I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.! 



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| UNITED STATES b-F AMERICA 



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WHERE IS THE CITY? 



BOSTON: 
ROBERTS BROTHERS 

186S. 



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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

Roberts Brothers, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



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CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTION. 

AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

CHAPTER I. 



A Baptist Layman, 



CHAPTER II. 

Sketch of the Baptist Minister's Sermon, 

CHAPTER III. 

The Baptism by Immersion, 



CHAPTER IV. 

Restricted Communion, 



CHAPTER V. 

Conversation with a Baptist Divine, . 

CHAPTER VI. 

Baptist Society for Religious Inquiry, 

CHAPTER VII. 
Four Faces, 



9 

16 

22 
40 

47 



AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
In a Congregational Sunday School, 
iii 



5i 



. 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER II. 

In a Congregational Sunday School, continued, . 57 

CHAPTER III. 

The Baptism by Aspersion, ...... 70 

CHAPTER IV. 
Talk with Congregational Clergymen, ... 77 



AMONG THE METHODISTS 



CHAPTER I. 

The Methodist Prayer Meeting, . 

CHAPTER II. 

Cyprian Cutting's Call, 

CHAPTER III. 

Methodist Doctrine, 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Fold of Flocks, 



CHAPTER V. 

An Old Man's Opinion of Methodism, 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Methodist Annual Conference, 



97 
no 
114 
119 

134 

140 



AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

CHAPTER I. 
The Episcopal Ordination, 151 

CHAPTER II. 
Episcopal Doctrine, . 159 

CHAPTER III. 
Luminous Points of Episcopacy, 162 

CHAPTER P7. 

Another Opinion, . . . . . . . . 177 



CONTENTS. V 

AMONG THE QUAKERS. 

CHAPTER I. 
Friends' Meeting, 181 

CHAPTER II. 

Further Observations, . 186 

AMONG THE S WE DENBO RGI ANS. 

CHAPTER I. 
Conversation with a Swedenborgian, . . . . 195 

CHAPTER II. 
Conversation Continued, 208 

CHAPTER III. 

Who was Emanuel Swedenborg? . . . .213 

CHAPTER IV. 
Concluding conversation, 218 

AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

CHAPTER I. 
A Sitting with a Spiritual Medium, .... 227 

CHAPTER II. 
More Advice, ........ 237 

CHAPTER III. 
Talk with a Spiritualist, . . . . . 243 

CHAPTER IV. 

A Spiritual Trajectory, . . . . . •...'• 253 

AMONG THE UNI VERS ALISTS. 

CHAPTER I. 
The Universalist Sermon, 259 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER II. 
Conversation with a Universalist, .... 273 

CHAPTER III. 
Second Sermon, ........ 286 

CHAPTER IV. 
Three Months Later, 298 

AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

CHAPTER I. 
Preliminary Observations, 303 

CHAPTER II. 

Conversation, . . . . . . . 310 

CHAPTER III. 
The Practical Sermon, ....... 331 

FINDING THE CITY. 

A Letter > 345 

The Reply, 345 

Conclusion, . 348 



INTRODUCTION. 



Israel Knight opened his Bible at Ezekiel 48 : 35, 
reading, — 

"And the name of the city from that day shall be, 
The Lord is there." 

Closing the book, he reflected. At length he said, 
" O ! that I might find the city with that name ! " 

This figure was not marked upon his mind at 
the bidding of the ideal pencil of a new impulse ; 
it was there as is the print of palms upon stone. 
Nature, which is one of the names of God, had 
graven it. It is natural for every soul, soon or 
late, to utter this aspiration. Whether the accidents 
are sublime, or trifling, or terribly adverse, the im- 
mortal sometimes looks upward. He yearns for the 
repose which is absolute. 

Israel Knight had come to this recognition. The 
figure before him was beautiful ; but more than this, 
the fact, that — Somewhere, there is a church, a 
peculiar feofle whose name is rightly, "The Lord 
is there" Being a youth who lacked a little of his 
majority, he addressed to his guardian the following: 
vii 



Vlll INTRODUCTION. 

"Respected Sir: — 

" I hope I am a Christian. As I have had but little experience, 
and have examined few books except those used in my classes, 
I am undecided what Church I had better select, with which 
to connect myself. 

"Please advise me upon this important subject, and oblige 
Yours obediently, 

Israel Knight." 
He received this reply : — 

"My Dear Young Friend: — 

" I hope you are a true disciple of Christ. He that doeth His 
will shall know of the doctrine. Love the Lord your God 
with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself, and you 
will find the truth. 

" An old man like myself sees through different spectacles 
from those used by young eyes. God is good. He gives wis- 
dom to all who seek it with a humble mind. Therefore, look 
for yourself; but my advice is — look on all sides before you 
cleave to any. 

" Be cautious about starting to make your jar, lest, like the 
one you found in Horace, as the wheel goes round, it turns out 
an insignificant pitcher. 

Yours truly, 

Ephraim Stearns." 

Our inquirer was now as much in obscurity as 
before, only it was clear that a work was before him, 
which no one else could do. " Shall I have recourse 
to a religious cyclopaedia?" he asked himself. Then 
he thought of the words " books as affected, are as 
men," and concluded to adopt the most inartificial 
course for the present. Knowing that business was 
soon to call him to a distant part of the State, he 
determined to keep the special object in recollection. 



THE WAY TO THE CITY. 



" This (my way) is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to 
the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." 

The Sectary. 



" When he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom 
faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool." 

Eccl. 10: 3. 

"And yet I show unto you a more excellent way. Though 
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not 
charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." 

Paul to the Corinthians. 



IX 



AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 



CHAPTER I 



A BAPTIST LAYMAN. 



Israel read the New Testament with interest. He 
thought he had great advantage in being able to study 
the sacred words in the unadulterated Greek. Besides 
the Greek Testament which he used in college, he 
owned one, in which had been written by his father's 
hand copious marginal notes in Latin and English. 
This copy was old enough to have on its title page : 
u Londini, Excudebat A. Lemington : Impensis J. 
F. & C. Lemington. MDCLVI." 

By the time he had arrived at the village of his 
temporary destination, he had examined into the third 
chapter of the Gospel by Matthew. It will be seen 
that he travelled leisurely over the ground. At the 
eleventh verse of this chapter he stopped short,- for 
here was a note in the paternal handwriting : " In 
water, upon repentance. Or, according to the para- 
phrase of Grotius, ' upon that profession of repentance 
which you make.' " In his English version, he found 
this verse to read, " I, indeed, baptize you with water 
unto repentance." 

It was now Sunday morning. Having arrived at 
the hotel late on the previous evening, he was at 
breakfast when the church-bell of the village began to 



2 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

ring. He asked his landlord what people worshipped 
there. 

" We are almost all Baptists hereabouts," answered 
that individual; "we've had a great revival lately, 
and there's going to be some twenty souls baptized to- 
day. Better go and see them." 

"Yes," said Israel with a new interest; "I shall 
gladly embrace this opportunity." He thought that 
his coming hither at that time was providential, and 
repeated to himself, " For he that hath mercy on 
them shall lead them, even by the springs of water 
shall he guide them." Is. 49 : 10. He did not yet see 
that all events are providential. " You have witnessed 
such important occasions as baptizings before ? " con- 
tinued the man. 

"No, sir," replied Israel ; " having spent nearly all 
my life in school, I have seen but little of the various 
forms and customs of the world." 

"Folks dead, mostly, perhaps?" 

" Yes, I can adopt the language of the inspired 
prophet — ' Behold I was left alone!' I have, how- 
ever, a good guardian." 

" Property, I presume, for him to look after? Well, 
I hope you will make up your mind to cast your lot 
in with us Baptists. We're a great people, sir, and 
we date back to the Lord Jesus himself, who was the 
true founder of our denomination. That, you know, 
is what no other sect in Christendom can begin to 
boast of." 

" To whom do the Congregationalists refer, as their 
founder?" asked Israel. 

" Not to the Lord," answered the man, shaking his 



A BAPTIST LAYMAN. 3 

head oracularly ; " they're always talking about Cir- 
cumcision and the Covenant. I don't know which of 
the two they take for their forefather. There never 
was a set of people more deluded than they are, unless 
it is the Catholics. They beat all for that." 

"The Roman Catholics, do you mean?" interposed 
the young man, quietly. 

" Of course, sir," answered the landlord with an air 
of irritation. 

" They refer to Christ as their founder, though we 
Protestants believe that there has been in some of their 
data, a falling away from the apostolic faith and 
practice. We certainly decline to acknowledge the 
1 Dattim apud Sanctum PetrumJ " added Israel, 
who had not yet put away the attempts at pedantry, 
which are the folly of nearly all newly-emancipated 
collegians. 

" O, as to that, you see, sir," said the landlord in an 
uncertain way — "Ah! what was I about to say? 
Yes, all the sects try to get straight descent from the 
Lord of Hosts ; but, sir," (striking on the table byway 
of emphasis), " not one of them have a grain of truth in 
'em, only what they fetch round from us Baptists. 
You know that place where it says, ' If you don't follow 
my words, you will be cast into the fire and burned,' or 
something like." 

" Do you believe that all who are not Baptists will 
share that fate ? " now asked Israel, dropping his fork 
and looking fixedly at his host. 

" I wouldn't go bail for them," answered the man ; 
then continued in a tone of greater seriousness, — 
"Young man, if you want to be on the safe side, you'd 



4 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

better make up your mind at once. I think after you 
have seen them baptized to-day, you will be wholly of 
my mind." 

"I have had friends, of other denominations, whom 
I highly regard for their goodness," said Israel ; " now, 
these are either going to be saved after death, or they 
are not. Certain it is that not one of them ^ias been 
baptized by immersion. But perhaps you believe in 
a purgatorial state," he added, " in which these people 
will be disciplined for their delinquency, while the 
Baptists will go immediately to Heaven? " 

" No, none of that. I believe in two places after 
death, and only two," answered the landlord. 

" Very well. To which shall these good Christians 
who have not been baptized like yourself, go ? " 

" I've got a book," said the man moving uneasily in 
his chair, "which I want you to read. It is written 
by one of our most famous Baptist ministers, and ex- 
plains all this much clearer than I can. You see I am 
a plain man, and not a D. D." 

u And I already have a book which was written by 
several very plain men, who took their degree directly 
from the great Head of the church. It is the New 
Testament, sir. I do not find there denunciations upon 
any sect ; but the requisitions for salvation are boldly 
stated to be summed up in faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

u Believe and be baptized" said the man, " and 
thou shalt be saved." 

u It does not read, however, that he that believeth 
not and is not baptized shall be damned. The 
persons to whom I have referred have been baptized, 



A BAPTIST LAYMAN. 5 

though not in the way which you believe to be 
right." 

"At all events," said the landlord, "I am just as 
certain as I am of anything in this world, that we 
Baptists will receive a great reward, in the next life, 
for our following our Master into the river Jordan." 

" Then you must hold to different states of happi- 
ness hereafter?" 

" There's one glory of the sun, we read ; — that 
glory will belong to our people, while those who may 
be Christians, but who have lived all their days in 
daring disobedience to the divine command, will shine 
about like a star that's almost gone out. But, 
then there's a mighty host of them that will be cast 
into outer darkness with other wretched wrong-doers. 
I can't say but all who have not been baptized, and 
who know better, will share this dreadful fate." 

" Perhaps they will," responded Israel with a deep 
sigh, as he remembered his father's note in the Greek 
testament ; " but I am rejoiced that it is not left for 
me to decide." 

" I have no doubt," said the man, " that all real 
Baptists will be among those who, Christ promised, shall 
set on thrones, and judge the world. O ! it will be a 
blessed day ; yes, a most glorious day, when all the 
kingdoms of the earth shall wail at the triumphs of 
the truth which they have despised." 

Israel had now finished his breakfast. As he rose 
to leave the table, the landlord said to him, " The 
more you read the Bible, the more you will see that 
the Baptists are the only ones who are right." In 
various forms, he repeated this assertion till Israel had 



D AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

nearly ascended the stairs which led to his room. 
" The bell will ring again at half-past ten, and if you 
like, I will take you along and give you a seat in my 
pew," he called after him. 

Israel thanked him, and disappeared. 

At the ringing of the second bell for church, the 
landlord found many things to engross his attention, 
until it was nearly time for the people to cease going. 

"Shall we not be late at church?" asked Israel, 
when they were fairly started, and had yet some rods 
to walk. 

" All right, sir," answered the man, while he looked 
slyly at his guest. " You must know it isn't every day 
that I have a stranger like yourself to bring with me 
into church." 

" To me tardiness seems disrespectful to the offi- 
ciating clergyman, and also to the place and the 
sacred object of our'meeting," said Israel. 

" Undoubtedly ; but then our minister knows me, 
and he knows, too, I suppose, that I'm one of his 
heaviest payers. i Money answereth all things ' you 
see." 

" It does not answer a good conscience, I believe," 
said Israel, in a lower voice. 

"O! as to that, '•Baptism is the answering of a good 
conscience,' Paul says. I attended to that important 
matter, years ago," added the man with new solemnity. 

They gained their seats in season to hear the prayer 
after the singing. Israel called home his wandering 
thoughts as well as he could, till he succeeded in fast- 
ening his attention. It took him longer to do this, as, 
following the manner of those around him, he re- 



A BAPTIST LAYMAN. 7 

mained in an upright, sitting posture, with his eyes 
unclosed. Unusual unction accompanied this prayer, 
and Israel received it, to keep with him ever after. 

Not that it was always present in his memory ; but 
its influence remained. The rain falls upon the plot 
of ground ; it dries, and is seen no more ; but a fructi- 
fication remains, which shall repeat itself in endless 
growths. 

Would you know the reason why this prayer was 
remembered? It was short. It was glowing with 
feeling. It had color, shape, sweetness, the strength 
of true reverence for the Unknown God ! Not a 
word was wasted ; not one misplaced. The minister 
had come to the attainment of this Fine Art in Relig- 
ion, as a genius arrives at excellence in any depart- 
ment of effort, by dint of patient labor. All true 
genius must have an inspiration. In this case, super- 
added to the labor was the Unspeakable Gift. 

In the earlier periods of his ministerial career, he 
had often indulged himself in roundly-worded and 
excursive prayers. He seemed to be striving to obey 
the injunction of the mournful prophet, — "In the 
beginning of the watches (or exercises) pour out thy 
heart like water before the face of the Lord." But 
he made a mistake and poured out his head. Hence, 
much was as if spilled on the ground, and could never 
be gathered up. What remained on the surface was 
not clear. It mirrored neither the image of God nor 
man. Had he poured out his heart, it would have 
been otherwise. 

One day, he made a discovery, which, though im- 
portant, is generally missed by men of his profession. 



8 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

This was, that, while he was at prayer in the sanc- 
tuary, some persons dreamed. The circumstances 
attending the event were ludicrous, but they entered 
his soul as though they had been sublime. He pon- 
dered the matter. Then, he knew, if some slept, 
others, whose temperament forbade this lapse from the 
dignity of the august occasion, would " endure the 
hour" by considering many subjects foreign to those 
in which he strove to lead. 

There was an error somewhere. Further pondering 
convinced him of the difficulty, even as men learned 
by the ass Nauplias what was the matter with their 
vines. By gnawing them, the creature taught the art 
of. pruning. These stupid people gnawed into his 
sensibilities, but they showed him how to prune their 
excessive manifestation. 

After this, the minister had no more trouble with 
sleepers while he prayed. 

As Israel listened, his mind expanded towards the 
speaker, and he felt a sensation of need. When one 
mind is attracted by another human mind, a want is 
created to supply a vacuity, — as a rise of the water of 
the sea at any place, in what is called a tide, produces 
a depression at another. The attraction of the infinite 
mind can alone give any impression of supply. But 
this is never complete in the natural life. Hence, it is 
written — " I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy 
likeness." 

At present, Israel regarded truth as a palpable 
reality which he was about to grasp. 



BAPTIST MINISTER S SERMON. 



CHAPTER II. 

SKETCH OF THE BAPTIST MINISTER'S SERMON. 

" My. text this morning," announced the preacher, 
" is found in Isaiah, fifty-fifth chapter, twelfth and 
thirteenth verses, — ' For ye shall go out with joy and 
be led forth with peace : the mountains and the hills 
shall break forth before you into singing, and all the 
trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of 
the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the 
brier shall come up the myrtle tree : and it shall be to 
the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall 
not be cut oft? " 

This sermon had two general heads. 

First — The persons to whom this promise applies. 

Second — The harmonious relation of the heart of 
the true disciple with the external world. 

Growing out of the first division of the subject 
was : — 

i. The persons who will go out with joy and be 
led forth with peace are those who keep the divine 
commandments. " If ye love me, keep my com- 
mandments." John 14: 15. "If ye keep my com- 
mandments, ye shall abide in my love." John 15 : 
10. The Holy Spirit, in his office of Comforter, abides 
with those who love God 5 so that they are enabled to 
rejoice under all circumstances. 



IO AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

2. What are the divine commandments and how are 
they kept? The first sermon which Jesus preached, 
after his preparation by the temptations, had for a text 
— Repent. His first public act touching himself, as 
he had no need of repentance, was baptism. 

The word of John the Baptist was also Repent ye. 

All need repentance, and this should be the first 
work of the soul who seeks for God. 

John's next act of ministry was the administration 
of the ordinance of baptism. He baptized Christ 
by immersion. Hence, baptism by immersion is not 
less obligatory than repentance. All other modes of 
baptism are desecrations of the sacred rite. He who 
said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life," pro- 
nounced those who climbed into the fold by any other 
way, thieves and robbers. 

" If there is one soul in my congregation to-day," 
continued the minister, " who doubts about immer- 
sion being the scriptural rite of baptism in profession 
of faith, or who thinks that another mode will answer 
a good conscience just as well as the true one, let me 
inquire, in the words of another, ' if there is not improb- 
ability that the just, wise, and merciful Saviour would 
enjoin upon His disciples the observance of a rite the 
nature of which could not be determined with any cer- 
tainty, or at least not without great difficulty. With 
all the resources of the most copious language in the 
world at His disposal, it is utterly incredible that He 
should have selected, to designate the act by which He 
requires all His followers to profess their faith in Him, 
a word so vague, or so ambiguous, as to make it im- 
possible for them to understand precisely what He 



BAPTIST MINISTERS SERMON. II 

would have them do. The supposition would, in fact, 
be highly dishonorable and very insulting to Him. If 
He could have wished to express His requirement by 
a word which would be equally applicable to several 
quite different acts, such as sprinkling, pouring, and 
immersion, it may well be doubted whether He could 
have found such a word in the Greek language or in 
any other ; but we are bound to believe He could not 
have wished any such thing. What we have to do, 
then, is to ascertain as exactly as possible what word 
He would have used had He spoken in the English 
language. 

" When the meaning of any word which often 
occurs in the Scriptures is called in question, it is to 
be ascertained by a collection and comparison of all 
the passages. That is the true meaning which gives 
a consistent sense in all the various relations and con- 
nections in which the word is used. The scriptural 
meaning of the Greek words for baptize and baptism 
is that which best agrees with all that is said about 
the rite in the New Testament, without any forced 
interpretation or elaborate explanation. That is the 
true sense of the words which naturally and obviously 
explains the expressions, ' going down into the water/ 
4 coming up out of the water, ' ; being baptized in 
water, in the Jordan, into Christ ; ' which shows 
that the abundance of water in ^non was the 
reason why John chose that place for the scene of 
his baptism ; which exhibits the resemblance between 
our baptism and a burial and resurrection ; which 
makes it pertinent to call the overwhelming sufferings 
of Christ a baptism ; which accounts for the fact that 



12 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

persons are always said to be baptized, the element 
never. If sprinkling meets all these requirements, that 
is the true scriptural baptism. If pouring meets all 
these requirements, that is the true scriptural baptism. 
If nothing but immersion meets all these requirements, 
then immersion, and nothing else, is the true scriptural 
baptism. The last particular named, though not so 
commonly noticed as some of the others, seems to us 
perfectly decisive of the whole question. If baptism 
meant sprinkling, then we should at least sometimes 
read that water was baptized upon persons. If bap- 
tism meant pouring, then we should of course always 
read that water was baptized upon persons. But if 
baptism means immersion, then we should always read 
that persons were baptized in water. We never do 
find either of the first two expressions ; we always do 
find this last expression. Could the scriptural proof 
be more complete ? We never even read, in the origi- 
nal inspired text, that persons were baptized with 
water ; it is always in, or into, the element. The 
preposition is indeed sometimes omitted, but as no 
other preposition is ever used, we are not at liberty to 
supply any other. 

" The best judges are not those who write contro- 
versially, on either side, but the most learned and im- 
partial lexicographers, commentators, historians, and 
antiquarians, of all ages, sects, and nations. And 
among these there is a remarkable unanimity in de- 
claring that immersion is the primary meaning of the 
Greek word, and a very general agreement in affirm- 
ing that it is the only meaning. Exclude all -partisan 
testimonies, on both sides, and the question ceases at 



BAPTIST MINISTER S SERMON. 



*3 



once to be debatable. Where is the church historian, 
of any scholarly reputation, who disputes that for 
more than a thousand years immersion was the only 
regular baptism throughout the Christian world, other 
and more convenient applications of water being al- 
lowed only in cases of sickness or infirmity, and avow- 
edly as substitutes for the primitive rite ? Is not the 
uniform and persistent testimony and practice of all 
to whom the Greek language is vernacular, of itself 
a demonstration of the meaning of the word? The 
Greek language has been the common speech of mil- 
lions in every age since the New Testament was writ- 
ten ; and all these, with one voice, declare, and have 
always declared, that the word means only to im- 
merse ; they all practise, and have always practised 
immersion ; they all refuse, and have always refused, 
to admit the validity of any baptism but immersion. 

"Just as, in consulting the Scriptures, the true sense 
is that which harmonizes and reconciles all the pas- 
sages which speak of baptism, so also, in consulting 
the human authorities, the true verdict is that in which 
there is a general agreement of competent witnesses. 
And immersion is the only point in which the suf- 
frages of scholars in regard to the meaning of the 
Greek word unite and are agreed." 

(Israel afterwards found these "words of another" in 
a paper among the files of the organ of the Baptist 
Church in New England.) 

"Now!" exclaimed the clergyman, striking the 
pulpit desk emphatically, "I challenge any one in the 
whole world, learned or unlearned, to find a set of 
arguments that can match these, which I have just 
read to you." 



14 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

" They are remarkably clear," responded Israel to 
himself, "and I don't see but I must submit to their 
practical conclusion." 

The speaker now hastened to the consideration of 
his last general division, viz : the relation of the mind, 
when properly exercised, with nature. Nature was 
but another name here for all the external world. 
Everywhere and under all circumstances, the willing 
and the obedient eat the good of the land, in their 
souls. Examples of this were cited. Among the 
most forcible was the great Baptist, John Bunyan. 
In prison, when expecting separation from his beloved 
family by an ignominious death, he wrote, " I have 
been able to laugh at destruction, and to fear neither 
the horse nor his rider. I have had sweet sights of 
the forgiveness of my sins in this place, and of my 
body with Jesus in another world." * * * 

" I have often thought," said the speaker, " that the 
happiest people in the world were the faithful 
Baptists ; and perhaps the brightest of their earthly 
moments, save those which close their mortal career, 
are when they follow their Saviour into the watery 
grave, and are buried with Him in baptism. The 
reason of this is, that they are the beloved and pro- 
tected of Heaven. The clouds seem to part over 
their heads, and we can almost catch the words, — 
4 These are my beloved ones in whom I am well 
pleased.' * * * 

" I never knew of the least physical injury to come 
upon a subject of baptism in consequence of the recep- 
tion of the holy rite, although I have seen the fragile 
form of delicate woman moving through the water 



BAPTIST MINISTER S SERMON. 15 

with piles of newly-cut ice on either hand, and beneath 
the inclement skies of midwinter, while the chill of an 
approaching storm filled all the air. Yes ! that same 
woman, when deep within the icy wave, broke forth 
in a melodious strain of sacred song ! 

" All you," he concluded, " who are about to com- 
plete the obedience to the requirements of your 
Saviour, by the acts of this day, will prove the truth 
of this sublime and beautiful promise — ' For ye shall 
go out with joy and be led forth with peace : the 
mountains and the hills shall break forth before you 
into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap 
their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the 
fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the 
myrtle-tree : and it shall be to the Lord for- a name, 
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off/ This 
name is the true disciple, and this everlasting sign is 
baptism by immersion." 



l6 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 



CHAPTE R III. 

THE BAPTISM BY IMMERSION. 

At the close of the sermon, the minister announced 
that the ordinance of baptism would be administered 
in the usual place, at half-past twelve o'clock. 

Israel followed his new guide out of the crowded 
house. " We will make haste," he said, " that we may 
get a good place at the water, for you to see and hear." 
The place of baptism was called at a convenient dis- 
tance from the church, yet it required a brisk walk of 
some ten minutes. 

It was about the middle of June, and, but for the 
warmth, one of the "perfect days" of the loveliest 
period of the year. After walking some distance upon 
a retired s.treet; they struck off from the ordinary route 
within a range of broad and beautiful pasturage, where 
was only an irregular path which had been made by 
the cows and sheep on their daily goings and return- 
ings. 

Fresh from a thickly populated place, Israel was 
more than pleased with the prospect which was now 
unfolding before him. Afar off could be discerned 
the soft outline of the distant hills, which seemed asleep 
in the purpled haze of the summer noon. In nearer 
view, here and there upon the undulating stretch of 
lands, he discerned the white farm-houses, half em- 



THE BAPTISM BY IMMERSION. 1 7 

bosomed in the abundant foliage of the trees. These, 
likewise, looked slumberous, as if the Sabbath calm 
held them in a dreamy pause. 

They soon came to a dilapidated fence of ancient 
looking design in irregular stones, half hidden by 
hedges of wild roses, blackberry and sweetbrier. With- 
in this enclosure the herd had ceased to graze, and 
were lying down in the grateful shadows of several 
maple-trees and slender silver birches. The sheep, 
a little scared at the intrusion, moved away softly over 
the grass, but soon stopped and seemed half satisfied. 

" There," said the landlord, as they suddenly made 
an angle around a slight declivity, " you see our Crystal 
Lake, where we baptize." 

Israel looked. He surveyed the new and beautiful 
picture in a protracted gaze. Somewhat of an artist 
by nature, and slightly such by cultivation, his soul 
drank in the scene with silent delight. Down the hill, 
a little to the left, was a sheet of water clear as crystal, 
and reflecting the green banks with the occasional 
trees, in wonderful distinctness. A fantastic willow 
whose trunk was wound fast with a large grape-vine, 
had grown over the water, so that its long, graceful 
streamers touched the surface with every slight motion 
of the breeze. Near this a bridge had once been 
started to span the narrowest portion of the water. A 
new road in another direction had interrupted the en- 
terprise, so that now there was only a picturesque 
path built out a little way, and gradually losing its 
shining sands in the water. 

A large stone, which was designed as one of the 
supports of the railing, the landlord showed Israel for 
2 



1 8 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

a resting-place, while his rotund and ample figure 
served as a shelter from the surges of the rapidly in- 
creasing crowd of spectators. From this point a clear 
view of the baptism was obtainable. 

Israel thanked his guide, and folding his arms, 
yielded to the tide of emotion which began to rise in 
his soul. 

Although the groups of men, women, and children 
were plentiful on the bank for some distance, and all 
along the lower paths about the water, they showed a 
respectful regard for the occasion, by a quiet demeanor 
and a stillness broken only by low murmurs of conver- 
sation ; or away on the farther bank, by the fall of a 
pebble from the hand of some curiously disposed 
urchin. But even these ceased, when the last of the 
procession made its appearance along the path which 
led to the shore, near the position occupied by 
Israel. 

" Here come the minister and the candidates, with 
the deacons and a few other members of the church," 
whispered the landlord. 

The minister and each of the candidates, who were 
nineteen in number, wore a long black robe, in the 
lower hem of which were small pieces of lead. They 
walked in couples, the men leading. The minister 
stood a little apart on the bank, with his back to the 
water, and uncovering his head (which example was 
followed by all the male members of the church 
present), he began to read aloud from a hymn-book. 
After which many voices sang the hymn. 

The sound of plaintive song upon the water is ever 
tenderly true to the highest impulses of our souls. As 



THE BAPTISM BY IMMERSION. 19 

we listen, we hear more than the human strain ; a 
legend of the angels falls from Heaven, and dissolves 
our ordinary thought into a tenuity of awe. Then, there 
are pictures. We seem nearer the eternal realities than 
we were a moment before this singing, by years of 
time* We wonder that our- hope paints not the 
roughness of everyday life with an immortal splendor ; 
for the ethers, in the calm sky above us, seem strangely 
transparent. Almost we pierce the veil. 

Israel heard this sacred melody, while his eyes 
rested upon the clear water which nearly touched his 
feet — heard this song going up from full and conse- 
crated hearts — and he prayed. Unconsciously, he 
said in his heart, " Mother ! help thy erring, strug- 
gling boy to come the right way to thee, who art now 
in the presence of the Infinite Christ ! " 

The mother whom he called dead was near in his 
thought, and he felt that he had but to put forth his 
hand, to touch her white robe. He heard not the 
prayer which followed the singing, .nor did he hear 
any of the remarks upon the nature and obligation of 
the ordinance that came after the prayer. 

A moment there was a perfect silence. This 
recalled Israel, and he saw the minister first go down 
alone into the water, then return, take one of the men 
by the hand, and then again slowly walk into the water. 
As they went, the clear, impressive voice of the min- 
ister spoke: "These were the words of the Lord — 
1 Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall 
the Son of Man also confess before the angels of 'God.' 
And thus said one of his disciples — ' See, here is 
water, what doth hinder? If thou believest with all 
thine heart, thou mayest be baptized/ " 



20 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

When they had gone into the water to the usual 
depth, they stopped ; then placing himself on the left 
of the candidate, the minister said, — 

" I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," meanwhile gently 
drawing him backward beneath the water, and bring- 
ing him up again, then saying " Amen." As soon as 
this was done, the choir on the bank commenced to 
sing : — 

" Sacred spirit, breathing o'er us, 

Thy sweet influence may we know; 
Open paths of light before us, 
And thy peace on us bestow. 
By thee guided, 
Up to glory may we go." 

Israel observed that the intelligent and tranquil face 
of the baptized person wore an expression of devout 
elevation, as though the conscious seal of divine 
approbation rested on him. Something of this ex- 
pression was apparent on each of the other persons 
who received the ordinance. Especially did the faces 
of the women sweetly mirror the repose of satisfac- 
tion which seemed to possess their souls. Some of 
these were quite young, and as the choir sung, — 

"Down to the hallowed grave we go, 

Obedient to thy word; 
'Tis thus the world around shall know 

We 're buried with the Lord : 
'Tis thus we bid its pomps adieu, 

And boldly venture in; 
O may we rise to life anew, 

And only die to sin ; " 



THE BAPTISM BY IMMERSION. 21 

Israel wondered if their coming lives would verify 
this sublime prophecy. The reflecting mind cannot 
shut out these unbidden speculations, even in the most 
solemn moments of experience. But the disciplined 
spirit remembers the words, " Charity never faileth," 
and is hushed. The young man did not know by 
word or life this beautiful and holy mystery of 
Christian charity or love ; therefore he thought many 
unquiet things at the suggestion of the Adversary, who 
is always present among the gatherings of the sons of 
God. 

When the last one had received the administration 
of the ordinance, and was coming up out of the water, 
these words were sung with an impressiveness which 
moved all hearts : — 

" 'Tis done ; the great transaction's done ; 
I am my Lord's and he is mine : 
He drew me and I followed. on, 
Rejoiced to own the call divine. 

High heaven, that hears the solemn vow, 
That vow renewed shall daily hear, 

'Till in life's latest hour I bow, 

And bless in death a bond so dear." 

" Lord ! it is done as thou hast commanded, and 
yet there is room ! " exclaimed the minister. He then 
closed the exercises with a short prayer and the bene- 
diction. 



22 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 



RESTRICTED COMMUNION. 



In the afternoon, the pastor of the church was as- 
sisted by another minister of his own denomination, 
whom he introduced to the audience as the Reverend 
Doctor Elias of the next city. It appeared afterwards 
that he had been invited to preach on that occasion, in 
order to effectually remove certain conscientious scru- 
ples of some of the leading Baptists of that church, in 
regard to the conditions of reception to Christian fel- 
lowship at the Lord's Supper. 

This man had a concrete expression upon his coun- 
tenance, as though fixed in the long-continued habit of 
close investigation of abstract subjects and peculiar, 
persons. But in all denominations, persons who study 
much upon one subject and upon one point of that 
subject are inclined to wear this look. One of its pe- 
culiarities is, that it comprehends objects in an oppo- 
site position from the reality. This is not unlike the 
operation of the burning-glass. All the sun's rays 
which fall on its surface are collected by the refraction 
of the glass into a single point. Whatever the object 
exposed to such a glass, it presents the image of it 
instead of the object itself. And this image is invert- 
ed. 

The theme of Doctor Elias, on this occasion, was 



RESTRICTED COMMUNION. 23 

based upon the words found in Colossians n : 8. 
" Beware lest any man spoil you . . . after the tra- 
dition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and 
not after Christ." Also, Hebrews 13 : 10. "We have 
an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve 
the tabernacle." 

The tradition of men and rudiments of the world 
were infant baptism and the baptism of believers by 
aspersion. Those who served the tabernacle, that is 
the Jewish rites in this manner, had no right to eat at 
the altar which was commemorative of Christ's suffer- 
ings and death ; they were not after him, in their open 
disobedience to his commands and indifference to his 
example. We ought, therefore, to go not after them, 
nor receive them to our Christian fellowship. The 
scriptural terms of admission of persons to the Lord's 
Supper were : — 

First — Confession of faith in Christ as their Saviour 
from the consequences of sin. 

Second — The public profession of their faith by 
baptism, (which signified immersion, no other mode 
of receiving this ordinance being admitted to be bap- 
tism.) 

Third — Faithful membership of a Baptist Church. 

After the consideration of the first division of the 
subject, much in the way that is usual for expounders 
of the Scripture in what are called Calvinistic churches, 
Dr. Elias proceeded to expend the force of his argu- 
ment upon the subject commonly called Close Com- 
munion. 

In the opening and unfolding of this portion of his 
theme, the preacher clearly acquitted himself of any 



24 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

violation of the first dictum in the formal logical rules 
of controversy, viz : " The terms in which the question 
in debate is expressed, and the precise point at issue, 
should be so clearly defined, that there could be no 
misunderstanding respecting them." 

The "precise point" with the Doctor was, — That 
Baptist believers, who alone are of Christ, should com- 
mune only with Baptist believers. His terms were cut 
clean with a sharp knife ; his point as plain to be seen 
as that of the letter V made by certain wild birds in 
their semi-annual migrations. But like this shape of 
the bird-flight, there appeared some disjointed links in 
his chain of argument. All who defend this doctrine 
do not openly take the position that believers baptized 
by immersion are alone of Christ ; they admit that 
others may be of Him, though an awkward ar- 
rangement is necessarily effected with being of Christ, 
and living in what they think is open disobedience to 
his commands respecting baptism. 

This man, however, acknowledged no such difficulty, 
since he maintained that there are three that bear 
witness of Christ on earth, " the spirit, and the water, 
and the blood : and these three agree in one." Faith 
in Christ in respect to the water was equally essential 
as faith in Him in respect to the spirit and the blood ; 
and he that believeth not God, hath made Him a liar, 
because he believeth not the record that God gave of 
his Son. The eternal life contained in this record 
included baptism as much as repentance and faith in 
the atoning blood. Therefore he that rejected one as 
it stood in God's own record, rejected all. Such 
persons deserved rejection by all who possessed the 
threefold witness in themselves. 



RESTRICTED COMMUNION. 25 

To substantiate this ground-position he asserted that 
none but Baptists should be admitted to the sacrament 
of the Lord's Supper. 

1. From the nature of the ordinance. 

One of the most ancient terms given to this sacra- 
ment was eucharist, from a Greek word, signifying a 
giving of thanks. The object of this act of thanks- 
giving was the death of Christ. It was sometimes 
called the Sacrifice among the primitive Christians, 
because it took the place of the paschal lamb, which 
clearly foreshadowed the atonement made by the divine 
sacrifice. 

(Here reflected Israel. If the institution of the 
Lord's Supper took the place of the Jewish passover, 
why may it not be true that baptism in like manner 
succeeded the rite of circumcision ?) 

" This shows," continued the Doctor, " that the sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper is a commemoration of the 
sufferings and death of Christ, by those who have 
obediently entered His visible church, and so have a 
right to the altar." 

2. From the express teachings of Scripture. u I 
would they were even cut off which trouble you," 
writes Paul to the Galatians. Again to Titus he says, 
"A man that is a heretic, after the first and second 
admonition reject." Any opinion that is contrary to 
the teaching of the Bible is heresy ; the term heretic 
signifies also one who causes division or schism in the 
church. Those who hold erroneous opinions are sure 
to endeavor to teach them to others ; hence schism. 
The opposers of baptism (he signified immersion) 
were schismatics or heretics. 



26 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

" Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which 
cause divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine 
which ye have learned, and avoid them." Rom. 16: 
17. All who do not hold to the Baptist or Bible 
doctrines have departed from the faith, and so cause 
divisions and offences, and, as one has said, " they are 
the party who are responsible for all the divisions re- 
sulting from that departure.' , 

" Can two walk together except they be agreed." 
Amos 3:3. 

"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, 
and that there be no division among you ; but that ye 
be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in 
the same judgment. ... Is Christ divided?" 1 Cor. 
1 : 10, 13. 

"I here quote," said the speaker, "from an able 
exposition of our views upon this important sub- 
ject. * ' It is not difficult to see how they can live in 
peace together in the same community (Baptists and 
Pasdobaptists) , and mutually esteem and love each 
other, and have much cordial and delightful commu- 
nion and co-operation, while they abide in separate 
ecclesiastical organizations, and each understands the 
other's liberty, and respects the other's conscience, 
and expects the other to maintain and propagate his 
peculiar views by all honorable and Christian meth- 

* Scriptural Terms of Admission to The Lord's Supper, 
By Rev. A. N. Arnold, D. D. 

It would appear that this clergyman was otherwise partially 
indebted to the same authority in this discourse, — a custom 
not peculiar to any denomination of preachers. 



RESTRICTED COMMUNION. 



2 7 



ods ; though even then the difference that requires their 
separation must seem to both parties a serious evil ; but 
how they are to live and work harmoniously together 
in one church fellowship, and under one church law, 
is in theory a mystery past finding out, and in practice 
certainly a problem yet unsolved. The things about 
which they differ are matters that particularly and 
vitally affect church relations. If they are peaceably 
united in those relations, it can only be on the con- 
dition that one of the parties shall consent to see, 
without protest, what they regard as a pernicious 
human invention, constantly performed in the church 
as a divine rite ; and that the other party shall consent 
to see, without protest, what they regard as a sacred 
parental duty, systematically neglected. . . . Happily 
there is too much of conscience in both parties to 
permit a peaceable and lasting union on such unchris- 
tian terms. Yes, happily ; for so long as our present 
difference of views continues, it would be a disgrace 
to us both if we could be cordially united in church 
relations/ " 

"Buy the truth and sell it not." Prov. 23 : 23. If 
we have bought the truth at the price of Christ's own 
blood, we may not sell it for a mess of pottage, like 
the Jewish rite of circumcision, which tradition and 
worldly rudiment is perpetuated in the rite of infant 
sprinkling. 

" Whatsoever is not of faith, is sin." Rom. 14 : 23. 
If we have not fellowship of faith with others, an attempt 
to establish church fellowship is a violation of right. 
u Endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond 
of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as 



28 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

ye are called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, 
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all." 
Eph. 4 : 5. 

It is shown what are this faith and this baptism, 
inasmuch as the Lord in his commission to his disci- 
ples, associates teaching with baptism, and confines 
the reception of baptism to those who were so 
instructed. This excludes those who are sprinkled in 
infancy. The exclusion of infant membership of his 
church is also apparent from his instruction to Nico- 
demus, that the new birth of the Spirit was indispen- 
sable. All his teachings clearly pointed to a spiritual 
kingdom on earth, and bore no resemblance to that in 
which parents and children, in the united church and 
state, composed the Jewish theocracy. 

" Finally," said the speaker, " the utter futility of 
any attempt at church fraternization with other bodies 
called evangelical, is made apparent, when we con- 
sider that such a step would at once annul our influ- 
ence against specious errors of faith and practice, and 
so effectually destroy our barriers, that there would 
appear no need of the perpetuation of Baptist 
Churches as separate ecclesiastical organizations." 

(" Othello's occupation would be gone," irreverently 
thought Israel at this juncture.) 

"And, my beloved brethren, if any of you labor 
under trouble respecting the inconsistency of close 
communion on earth and free communion in Heaven, 
banish the burden by the assurance that if you keep 
the ordinances as they were delivered unto you, 
(1 Cor. 11 : 2,) you shall have praise in that great day 
when every man's work shall be manifest, while he 



RESTRICTED COMMUNION. 29 

that knew his master's will and did it not, shall be 
beaten with many stripes." 

("He believes in purgatory," said Israel.) 

" No, my brethren, you will not be asked to 
commune with the Paedobaptists in Heaven ! At 
the marriage supper of the Lamb and his church 
there, hone will be admitted who have not on the 
wedding-garment. Or, if we admit that Paedobaptists 
will go to Heaven, we reply to the charge against us 
of inconsistency here, that we have nothing to do 
with the institutes and policy of that pure and perfect 
world. We leave such adjustments to Him who is 
Lord of the heavens and the earth. It is enough for 
each one here to see to it that he walks in the strait 
and narrow way ; that he is really after Christ and 
not of false prophets, and that he departs not after 
vain traditions.- 

"' Can each of you within the sound of my voice, from 
your inmost heart, say, ' I am after Christ, and I am 
willing to show my discipleship at His altar, by keep- 
ing His commandments and following his example ? ' 
And does He say, ' Thou art mine, and thou hast a 
right to eat at my altar ? ' " 

The foregoing is the substance of what Israel re- 
membered of this sermon ; but here is not half of the 
kernel which Dr. Elias found within the shell of his 
text. 

At the conclusion of this discourse the persons -who 
that day had been baptized, with one or two others 
recommended from a sister church, came forward in 
the aisle near the pulpit, and received from the pastor 
the right hand of fellowship of that church. In this 



30 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

act, among other things specified, the mutual watch- 
care of the church and the new members was severally 
promised. 

(Israel wondered if this watchcare extended from 
the church to derelictions which are covered with 
wealth, real or reputed.) 

Singing and prayer succeeded. An invitation to 
u members of sister churches in good and regular 
standing " to partake of the Lord's Supper (which was 
about to be celebrated) was extended, and the con- 
gregation was dismissed. 



CONVERSATION WITH A BAPTIST DIVINE. 3 1 



CHAPTER V. 

CONVERSATION WITH A BAPTIST DIVINE. 

The next morning, Israel took the same train of 
cars as did the Reverend Doctor Elias. Owing to a 
slight detention, they were at the depot a half hour 
together. Apparently together, for Dr. Elias was 
alone among strangers in public places like a depot — 
except on rare occasions. His thought went after no 
one, because it was not worth while ; no one went 
after him, for it would seem to cost too much. 

A rare occasion, however, now transpired. While 
he waited, like a statue prisoned in the tower of 
Pharos, Israel beheld the august man, and longed to 
look into him as in a mirror, not for the gratification 
of an aimless curiosity, but to see the reflection of 
himself, or rather his thought with the spectre of this 
man's thought just behind it, that he might gauge, 
compare, deduce, possibly come to a conclusion. But 
the idea appalled him. At the very moment when he 
sighed that there were no self-moving seats which 
would place him at the side of the profound clergy- 
man, as Homer says Vulcan had constructed for the 
gods in council, his eye fell upon an. object lying upon 
the solid gravel near the lumbering vehicle that had 
brought the clergyman and himself, together with an 
old lady and two little girls, to the station. At first he 



32 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

thought it was a pocket book, dropped by some one 
of his fellow travellers ; but it proved to be more 
valuable than any pocket book. On opening the 
shining morocco cover, Israel descried something which 
impressed him as much as though he had found a 
sword made by Azalzel. 

It was the manuscript of the sermon which he had 
heard yesterday from Dr. Elias. It contained a sword 
of the Spirit. His first impulse was to keep it under 
a compulsory loan, until he had read it at his leisure. 
For the moment he was discretive, departing from his 
habitual mood ; but remembering himself, he ap- 
proached the reverend gentleman, and, slightly touch- 
ing his hat, said : 

" Allow me, sir, to restore what I think is your 
property." 

Dr. Elias took the book with some surprise, reply- 
ing rather awkwardly, "Yes, it is mine. How came 
you with it? I thought I had it with me." 

Israel told him how he had found it, adding after a 
pause, " I heard the sermon yesterday, and I was 
tempted to keep it long enough for a review." 

" Ah," said Dr. Elias, with a wan smile, " are 
you a resident of this place?" 

" No, sir, I am without a home either in the world 
or the church." 

The keen, searching eye of the clergyman now 
rested fully upon Israel, while he continued : " The 
words of Jesus were, ' If any man thirst, let him come 
unto me and drink.' " 

Israel struck straight into his train of thought, and 
answered in a low, reverent voice, " Where shall I 
find him?" 



CONVERSATION WITH A BAPTIST DIVINE. 33 

" With those disciples who do his will. In your 
own heart, also, if you are one of these." 

"Who are those that do his will?" 

"They who believe, and," he added slowly, "who 
are baptized." 

" I have thought somewhat of these things," pro- 
ceeded Israel, " but they are not clear. I would take 
the right way, did I but know it." 

"You say you heard me yesterday. What did I 
preach that you could not understand?" now asked the 
doctor. 

"Thank you for the opportunity to state some of 
the difficulties, sir. And yet, they are not sufficiently 
arranged in my memory to give in a manner satis- 
factory to myself." 

" Never mind that," said the divine, waving his 
gloved hand. "What is one of the difficulties?" 

" It occurred to me, when you spoke of the Lord's 
Supper being a continuation of the feast of the pas- 
chal lamb, that infant baptism might also be derived 
from the rite of circumcision." 

" It might, did not a difficulty arise when we 
remember that only males were the subjects of this 
rite. You will find in the fifteenth chapter of the 
Acts, that when there was a dissension among the 
people touching circumcision, the apostles abrogated 
the rite, but made no mention of baptism in any 
form." 

" If I remember rightly," continued Israel, " in the 

following chapter, it says that Lydia was baptized 

and her household. It appears that the Lord opened 

her heart to believe the teaching of the apostles, but 

3 



34 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

nothing is said of her household, only that they were 
baptized." 

" Lydia," said Dr. Elias, emphatically, " was one 
of a number of women who made and sold garments 
of a purple color much valued in that time. Had she 
been a wife and mother, some allusion would have 
been made to her husband and children." 

" But ' her household ' implies the children. She 
might have been a widow," persisted Israel. 

"You will observe in the verse preceding the state- 
ment of her conversion and the baptism, that it reads, 
' And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by the 
river side, where prayer was wont to be made.' This 
river was the Strymon, and the place might be trans- 
lated a ' proseuche,' which was a place enclosed with 
stones in a grove or under a tree, where prayer was 
allowed by law. ' And we sat down/ the text reads, 
1 and spake unto the women which resorted thither/ 
These women were probably the members of Lydia's 
household, and assisted her in her occupation. The 
brethren also met there, as we find in the fortieth 
verse." 

Israel was silent. 

" You will further notice they were by the river's 
side, which adds strength to the supposition of immer- 
sion," the Doctor continued. 

" It seems to me," said Israel, after a short pause 
in the conversation, " from what you said in your ser- 
mon, of Christ's kingdom being a spiritual one on 
earth, that baptism should be held in such a spiritual 
sense, as a sign of a change in the heart which may be 
called miraculous, that the mode of its administration 



CONVERSATION WITH A BAPTIST DIVINE. 35 

may be regarded of minor importance. The thing 
signified is the event rather than the sign, so that per- 
sons may consult their choice and convenience in the 
manner of being baptized. I suppose that the Hysto- 
pedes or Eunomians, who baptized in the manner in- 
dicated by their name, were just as sincere as the 
Valentinians, who used oil with their water in baptism ; 
and these, too, were as sincere as the Baptists of to-day. 
They all signify a spiritual birth into the new spiritual 
life, as I apprehend." 

" We have no right," here spoke Dr. Elias very 
gravely, " to follow vain traditions and the rudiments 
of the world. Our pattern is Christ. He was bap- 
tized in the river in the manner of immersion. c See,' 
said God to Moses, ' that thou doest all things after the 
pattern showed thee in the mount.' " 

" Excuse me, sir," answered Israel, " but I am 
reminded by your allusion to Moses and his pattern, 
that when he had spoken to all the people according 
to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, 
with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssops, and 
sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, 
' This is the blood of the testament which God hath 
enjoined unto you.' " 

u That was typical of the sacrifice of Christ which 
was to be offered to bear the sins of many — a shadow 
of good things to come," answered the doctor. 

" Yes sir, a figure of the true, as it is expressed in 
Hebrews, and, as I think also, a true figure." 

"It was the first testament dedicated with blood, 
signifying the new testament of the Great Atoning 
Sacrifice." 



36 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

" A testament is without force except the testator 
be dead. If the thing signified was perfected only 
after the event, the sign was likewise equally sealed at 
that time. Hence, if the blood and the water were 
transubstantiated, or to use a less objectionable word, 
transmitted in the great events of the life of our Lord, 
why may we not believe that the manner of applying 
it by sprinkling from the hyssop and the scarlet wool, 
was none the less given among the pattern of things 
showed in the mount?" 

"Simply because Christ was baptized, not sprin- 
kled ; and he left an express command touching this 
ordinance." 

" But may not some of his commandments require 
modification for different persons and different places 
of the world? For instance, in a climate like ours, 
would it not be agreeable to him to practise a mode 
of baptism less inconvenient than immersion in a 
river or other body of water ? " 

" Our baptisteries which we use meet all the de- 
mands of this exigency. I have one in my own 
church in the city," said the doctor. 

" It strikes me," observed Israel abstractedly, "that 
when you modify the pattern of Christ so far as to use 
a large bowl in the church for baptisms, there is not 
a very long step to the small one. Pardon ! but I 
can't help thinking of the strain at a gnat and the 
swallowing of a camel." 

" And I am reminded of the words ' If thine eye be 
evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness,' " 
returned the doctor. 

" Baptism as I saw it administered yesterday," con- 



CONVERSATION WITH A BAPTIST DIVINE. 37 

tinued Israel, " is a most impressive spectacle to me. 
That, truly, seems like following Christ ; but a baptism 
in a baptistery would be to me little short of profana- 
tion of the beautiful and holy Scriptural rite. Besides, 
it violates the law of fitness. It is inelegant and not 
cleanly." 

" Not at all," said Dr. Elias, moving uneasily, and 
finally looking anxiously for the arrival of the train ; 
" baptisteries are of great antiquity ; as early as the 
time of Clovis, we read of them. They serve most 
forcibly to 'illustrate our willingness to follow the ex- 
ample and commands of Christ respecting immer- 
sion." 

" I know they have antiquity in their support, but I 
thought that ' tradition ' and the ' rudiments '■ of the 
world were of no account against the example of 
Christ, however respectable or ancient they may 
appear," quietly answered the youth. 

" Our baptisteries," renewed "the doctor, while he 
consulted his watch, " do not interfere with immersion. 
We challenge the world to show our disobedience to 
the commands of our Saviour." 

" I remember," answered Israel, "that Christ left 
on record this command : ' If I then, your Lord and 
Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash 
one another's feet.' Why are you not equally obedient 
in this regard ? " 

" That act," said the doctor, " was symbolical of 
any deed of Christian kindness which involves per- 
sonal sacrifice ; it was not an ordinance, to be observed 
like baptism." 

" An ordinance," returned Israel, " we know, is a 



38 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

rule for observance. No rule to be observed was 
uttered by our Lord more oracularly than this. He 
added, ' For I have given you an example, that ye 
should do as I have done to you.' " 

" It was not understood by his disciples as of literal 
significance/' said Dr. Elias. 

"lam not inclined to think so," said Israel, "for 
when Paul recommends a widow to be assisted by the 
Church, he mentions as one qualification, ' if she have 
washed the saints' feet.' (1 Tim. 5 : 10.) His language 
evidently was intended in the literal meaning, for he 
accompanies the words with others of equally prac- 
tical import." 

"But we find no account of the early Christian 
Church observing the practice as a necessary obliga- 
tion, and as a testimonial of faith," said the doctor. 

"In every age of the Church," persisted Israel, 
" has this example of Christ been imitated by some of 
his disciples. To this day, it is observed at least by 
the Roman Catholics in time of Lent, in Rome, and 
also by the Moravians, or Church of the United 
Brethren. If you Baptists place such stress upon 
your implicit obedience to the commands and ex- 
ample of Christ, the omission of this rite is unaccount- 
able." 

The whistle of the approaching train being dis- 
tinctly heard, Dr. Elias said, " Young man, beware 
what use you make of the light you have received." 

" To be frank," replied Israel, " I am, at present, 
inclined to think in accordance with the views of the 
Baptists ; I have offered my objections to you, by 
your leave, with the object of obtaining information. 



CONVERSATION WITH A BAPTIST DIVINE. 39 

But I shall come to no practical decision until I have 
examined more thoroughly." 

" We invite the utmost investigation of our doc- 
trines — since they are founded on the Word of God, 
which cannot be broken," returned the doctor. 



40 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 



CHAPTE R VI. 

BAPTIST SOCIETY FOR RELIGIOUS INQUIRY. 

Some time after the conversation in the preceding 
chapter, Israel Knight, being a resident of a New 
England city, and an attendant at one of the leading 
Baptist churches, accepted the invitation of some of 
the young men of that society to be present at their 
meeting for religious inquiry. It happened that, at the 
first session which Israel attended, the topic for that 
evening was the History of the Rise and Progress of 
the Baptists. The digest of the lengthy manuscript, 
for the most part compiled from reliable authorities,* 
was as follows : — 

The Baptists came from Christ, who was immersed 
in the river Jordan by John the immerser. From the 
Greek word, of which baptism is but the English 
form, we do not call immersion a. mode of baptism, 
but it is baptism itself. Hence, it is incorrect to say 
that a person is baptized, unless he has been immersed. 
The Baptists instituted the baptism of believers as the 
fit subjects for the ordinance, in the examples of 
baptism found in the New Testament, without one 
exception. 

Until the third century, when infant baptism first 

* Among these should be cited Rev. Dr. Cox, the English 
historian of the Baptists. 



BAPTIST SOCIETY FOR RELIGIOUS INQUIRY. 41 

began to be practised, immersion was the only baptis- 
mal rite of the Church. During the Dark Ages, when 
almost every species of error gained a foothold in the 
churches, infant sprinkling took the place of baptism 
in a majority of cases ; but even then, we find evidences 
of the pure rite being administered. Before Augus- 
tine visited the ancient British church, they did 
not baptize infants. The ancient Catholics, so called, 
the old English Episcopal Church, and the Greek, and 
Arminian Churches baptized by immersion. In the 
eleventh century Bruno and Berengarius were oppo- 
nents of any form of baptism but immersion. Their 
example was followed by the Waldenses, the Lollards, 
and the Wickliffites. The first Lollard or Baptist 
martyr in England was Sir William Sawtre, in the 
year 1401. 

From the accounts of the public disputations upon 
infant baptism, at an early period of the Reformation, 
in Zurich, Bale and Berne, we derive sufficient 
evidence of another existing form in those places. 

The Baptists were principally located in Holland 
during the latter years of the reign of Elizabeth in 
England, on account of persecutions received from the 
Court of the High Commission. A Baptist church of 
English refugees was founded at Amsterdam, about 
'this time, by Mr. Smyth, who had previously been 
a clergyman of the Church of England and then a 
Brownist dissenter. But before this there were 
Baptists among the Anabaptists, though they did not 
form a separate church." After the death of Mr. 
Smyth, in 1608, Mr. Helwisse took charge of this 
church, and soon returned to England with his con- 



42 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

gregation. In 1620 these Baptists made a memorial 
to Parliament, in which they disclaimed all connection 
with the Anabaptists. From their avowal of doctrine 
it appears that they were General Baptists, or Armini- 
ans. Thirteen years later, Mr. Spilsbury established 
what is called the Particular, or Calvinistic, Baptist 
Church, in London ; and being careful to have no 
connection with the Arminian branch of the Baptists, 
they sent over one of their number to Holland to re- 
ceive baptism, and return with authority to administer 
it to them. 

At the time of Charles the First, the Baptists re- 
ceived much persecution from the Presbyterians. 

In 1653, under Cromwell, there appeared Mr. 
Barebone, a Baptist minister of much influence in 
both church and state. From his name the Short 
Parliament of Cromwell was called Praise-God- 
Barebone's Parliament. 

In 1 66 1, owing to the disloyalty of certain divisions 
of the Baptists for some years previous, an address 
containing a disavowal of Anabaptist principles was 
presented to the king of England by the Particular 
Baptists. At this time and afterwards, till the Revolu- 
tion in 1688, they suffered persecution from efforts 
made to restore them, with all other dissenters, to the 
established church. The year following the legal* 
toleration, delegates from more than a hundred 
churches met in London, and published the profession 
of faith known as the Century Confession. 

In 1639, Roger Williams established the first 
Baptist church in America. It was in Providence, 
Rhode Island. Their early history in New England 



BAPTIST SOCIETY FOR RELIGIOUS INQUIRY. 43 

shows that they suffered much from persecution, 
and were at one time banished from Massachusetts. 
A Baptist church was founded in Charlestown, Mass., 
in 1665. And in the first half of this century, nine 
out of the seventeen American Baptist churches were 
in New England. 

Among the eminent men of the denomination in 
England are the names of Gale, Carson, Gill, the 
Rylands, the Stennetts, Pearce, Fuller, Ward, Carey, 
Hughes, Foster, Hall, and more recently, Spur- 
geon. 

Dr. Gill wrote a commentary on the Bible in nine vol- 
umes, folio, and was the author of other valuable works. 
Robert Hall is said to have been the greatest preacher 
that England has ever produced. His books take 
high rank among standard theological works. The 
same is true of the works of Foster. 

In our own land, the first name dear to every Bap- 
tist heart is Roger Williams. Not only in the eyes 
of all our denomination, but of all the sects of our 
land, is this name precious as that of the pioneer of 
true liberty of conscience. The polity of the churches 
founded by him gave to Thomas Jefferson the idea of 
a republican form of government, expressed in the 
Declaration of Independence. Truly has Dr. Chan- 
ning said of Roger Williams, " Venerable confessor 
in the cause of freedom and truth ! May his name be 
precious and immortal ! May his spirit never die in 
the community which he founded ! " 

The Baptists have the honor of being foremost in 
missionary enterprises. In 1792 the Particular Bap- 
tists of England founded the first missionary society, 



44 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

and sent Carey, Thomas, and Marshman to India, 
where their labors were crowned with wonderful 
success. 

The rise of our numerous home and foreign mis- 
sionary societies, we trace, under God, to the celebrated 
appeal sent to the American Baptists by Dr. Judson 
and Rev. L. Rice, in 1814. These men were pros- 
elytes to our church from the Psedobaptists, all in con- 
sequence of reading and studying the New Testament. 
.... (Then followed long, statistical accounts of the 
contributions of the Baptist churches of the United 
States and Foreign Missions, and likewise other benev- 
olent objects.) 

In conclusion, all must become Baptists before the 
temporal kingdom of Christ can be established on 
earth. 

After this, other sects were treated. A summary 
of some of this treatment, Israel entered in his note- 
book, as follows : — 

The Congregationalists have no divine authority for 
doctrines, distinctive from the Baptists. They are, 
however, very respectable as a denomination in both 
latent and active power. 

The Methodists, like all who are in the secondary, 
procellous, stage of development, are pleased to be 
heard rather than closely seen ; consequently, by way 
of caution, the adage reversing this process applies. 
Their usages, for the most part, are not what refined 
Baptists can approve. The rapid propagation of the 
sect is easily accounted for, when we consider the 
class for which its polity is adapted, and how little is 



BAPTIST SOCIETY FOR RELIGIOUS INQUIRY. 45 

required formally to adopt it. John Wesley was a 
very good man, but he is vastly overrated by the people 
who profess to make Christ their leader and head. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church is but one short 
remove from the Roman Catholics. It has afforded a 
good asylum for the ambitious and disaffected minis- 
ters of our own fold, and also for some of our senti- 
mental females. 

The Quakers, as they were, could teach some of us 
many valuable lessons, especially our women, upon the 
subject of fine clothes. They are to be commended 
for their poor attempts at proselytism. 

The Unitarians and Universalists are of antichrist. 
We leave them to the Searcher of Hearts, meanwhile 
uttering our solemn protest against their doctrines and 
practice. 

Emanuel Swedenborg was insane, and all his fol- 
lowers are deluded enthusiasts. 

The father of Spiritualism is the father of lies. 

Israel also entered into his book, " What I gather 
from the Baptists, that others think of them : — 

In general, we are regarded as remarkable for purity of doc- 
trine, and we hope, not less for practice- 

In particular, John Calvin held us in great respect. If it 
had not been for our freedom of opinion, he would have 
become one, it is manifest, from his words : — 

"The word baptize signifies to immerse, and the rite of 
immersion was observed by the ancient church ; and from 
these words it may be inferred that baptism was administered 
by plunging the whole body under water." — Obs. on Jokn 3 : 23. 

" In England, of late years, I ever thought the parson bap- 
tizing his own fingers rather than the child." — Selden. 



46 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

" We grant that baptism (in the primitive times) was by 
washing the whole body." — Baxter on Matt. 3 : 6. 

" The custom of the ancient churches was not sprinkling 
but immersion." — Bishop Taylor. 

" The person baptized went down into the water, and was, 
as it were, buried under it." — Bishop Pearce. 

'"Buried with him in baptism!' It seems the part of 
candor to confess that here is an allusion to the manner of 
baptizing by immersion, as most usual in those early times." 
— Doddridge. 

" Christ commanded us to be baptized, by which word it is 
certain immersion is signified." — Beza. 

"Anciently, those who were baptized, were immersed and 
buried in the water," &c. &c. — Tillotson. 

"Mary Welsh, aged eleven days, was baptized according to 
the first church, and the rule of the Church of England, by 
immersion." — Wesley. 

" I could wish that such as are to be baptized should be 
completely immersed into water, according to the meaning of 
the word and the signification of the ordinance." — Martin 
Luther. 



FOUR FACES. 47 



CHAPTER VII 



FOUR FACES. 



About this time, our young investigator received 
the following letter from his guardian : — 

u Then you are about to become a Baptist, be- 
cause, you say, their view of the ordinance of bap- 
tism is the only correct one according to the New 
Testament ! 

"What do you mean by being a Baptist? There 
are, as I presume you know, at least nine different 
divisions of this sect in our own country ; viz., Regular 
Baptists, Freewill Baptists, Six-Principle Baptists, 
Disciples or Campbellites, Seventh-Day Baptists, 
Winnebrenarians, Anti-Mission Baptists, Christians 
and Dunkers — in all, comprising about one million 
and a half members. If you mean a Regular Baptist, are 
you sure that you fully endorse their views upon other 
points of doctrine, as this one of immersion? Have 
you looked on all sides of this, at present, your 
favorite denomination? Remember that the wrong 
side of every sect, you best get from the opposition. 
No observation and inference are so industriously 
faithful as this. , 

"You have doubtless noticed already four faces, at 
least, to the Regular Baptists. This development 
will appear in every sect ; like the cherubim of 



48 AMONG THE BAPTISTS. 

Ezekiel's vision. (Ez. 1 : 10.) ' The face of a man, the 
face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an 
eagle, have they all.' 

"The first indicates humanity in the image of the 
Divine. Under this face range many of the Baptists. 
These are moved by the spirit of charity. They love, 
they forgive, they endure. Whoever has the friend- 
ship of one of them, has a friend who turns not as he 
goes. 

" The second, or lion-face, includes another class not 
less certain in their identity. Proud and haughty 
scorner is his name. The representative man of them 
deals in proud wrath. He has intelligence like the 
lion, — a nobility which is selfish, tyrannous. He 
demands the lion's share. He thinks his roar is terri- 
ble ; nevertheless a mouse can deliver him. His ideas 
project his own royalty into the next life. This face, 
likewise, have the Baptists. It covereth more and 
more disciples, every day, with the increase of worldly 
prosperity. 

" The third is that of the burden-drawer. 

" These are obedient, patient, faithful, laborious. 
They serve the will of the others. 

"The last comprises enterprise, aggressive and pro- 
gressive. These fly. They soar alone, yet they are 
not without an eyrie which is near the clouds, and is 
a divine compensation for their work of isolated 
result. They plan and carry missions. They build 
churches and schools where else would be a desert. 
They adventure royally. They attempt the millen- 
nium. 

"Israel ! look out for the lion. The less you see him 



FOUR FACES. 



49 



in any denomination, the better it is for the nonce. He 
roars in the pulpit, in the newspaper, and in the 
sacraments. 

Truly Yours, 

Ephraim Stearns." 



AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 

" There must be a right road to the city with that 
name of names," reflected Israel Knight, " and possi- 
bly I shall find it here." 

He was among the young men's class of an Ortho- 
dox Congregational Sunday school, in the city. 

The subject of the lesson was Baptism. The 
teacher was an elderly clergyman, who resided in that 
parish, and preached only occasionally, by reason of 
impaired health. His manner was genial. He invited 
free discussion, as a teacher will, who understands his 
theme, and is not afraid of its foundations. 

Israel had a good deal of curiosity to observe what 
could be said on a subject which now, he fully 
believed, had only one well-defended side. 

" Suppose one of you takes the Baptists' position of 
this question, and see how many good sharp shots you 
can make at us," said the teacher, glancing about the 
young men. " We'll endeavor to heal our wounds as 
best we may," he added. 

" There is one here among us," remarked a leading 
member of the class, "whom, though a stranger to all 
but myself, I beg leave to introduce as inclined to dis- 
cussion upon this c exact science ' of baptism. Fresh 

5 1 



52 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

from Baptist teachings, I hope he will favor us with 
light From his stand-point." 

" Yes," said the teacher, looking at Israel, " we in- 
vite you, sir, to state any objections to our view which 
may occur. By so doing you will best help us to find 
our own fortifications." 

" I am not a Baptist," replied Israel, somewhat em- 
barrassed by these words, " though I confess that their 
principal arguments upon their mode of baptism seem 
to me unanswerable." 

" For instance, state the first root of the difficulty, 
if you please." 

"The origin of baptism, as an example for Chris- 
tians, or, in other words, of Christian baptism, was the 
baptism of Christ by John in the river Jordan ; was it 
not?" asked Israel. 

" I hold ' Christian baptism ' to be an unimportant 
term," replied the teacher ; " since Christ was bap- 
tized, not to found a rite, but to observe one long estab- 
lished. He did not say of his baptism, as of the 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper, ' This do in remem- 
brance of me,' but ' Suffer it to be so now, for thus 
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness,' signifying 
the necessity of answering an established law of prac- 
tice. He also said that he came not to destroy the law 
and the prophets, but to fulfil them. The spirit of 
this rite under different figures is seen throughout the 
dispensations which preceded Christ. 

" In the first age of the world is the covenant be- 
tween God and Adam, the article of which was, to 
have and to hold every tree in the garden for food, 
save the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and 



IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 53 . 

evil. Abstinence from this fruit was the sacramental 
seal of the covenant. After this covenant, or baptism 
into the will of God, man was known by a name dis- 
tinct from his kind. He was called Adam. This 
covenant being broken on the part of man, God in 
his goodness did not forsake him, but manifested his 
first covenant of grace in a new form, under certain 
conditions, promising him the sustenance of life. The 
sacrament of this covenant was the offering of the 
firstlings of the flock by man unto the Lord, and its 
acceptance. This prefigured the sacrifice of Christ, 
and may properly be called the first covenant, with its 
attending sacrament, between God and fallen man. 

" In the second age of the world, the event which pre- 
figured salvation through faith in Christ is best 
described by the Apostle Peter, ' In the days of Noah 
while the Ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, 
eight souls were saved by water. The like figure, 
whereunto, even baptism, doth now also save us.' (1. 
Pet. 3 : 20.) 

" God's covenant with man was here renewed to 
Noah and to his seed after him. In the cloud which 
should bring a baptism upon the earth, was the bow 
or sign of his promise of salvation from destruction. 

" In the third age of the world, again did God cov- 
enant with man through Abram. He was promised 
to be a father of many nations. His name was pro- 
nounced to be Abraham.' ' And I will establish my 
covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after 
thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, 
to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.' 

" The seal of this sublime promise was the rite of 



54 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

circumcision, which was also a like figure to baptism, 
typical of salvation through faith." 

Here Israel asked to interrupt the teacher, and said : 
" Since it was only the male child who was required 
to receive this rite, how can it be made to answer in 
correspondence to baptism, which is the profession of 
faith by all believers, or by the responsible for the irre- 
sponsible, whether male or female." 

" Before the birth of Christ," answered the clergy- 
man, " woman was considered, like Eve, to be one 
flesh with man, — bone of his bones, and flesh of his 
flesh. But when Christ came, born of a woman, her 
sex took on a new importance, and assumed a distinct 
personality." 

" Eve," said Israel, " was a wife, and I supposed 
the identity of sexual bone and flesh to have referred 
solely to this relation of life. By whom were the 
single women represented before the descendants of 
Mary?" 

"By their fathers and brothers," promptly replied 
the teacher. " The rite of circumcision," he went on, 
" like baptism, was a figure of Christ's death. In that 
death the man, and not the mother, suffered. And 
although it may be truly said that no being, male or 
female, other than Christ himself, endured the penal- 
ties of man's transgression on the cross, it is equally 
plain that Christ's human nature, united with the 
divine, endured the agonies of the Passion. This 
nature belonged to man peculiarly, while in general 
it embraced all mankind. 

" From this I derive the idea that it is far easier for 
woman to experience the birth into the new life or the 



IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 55 

regeneration, than for man. Throughout Christendom 
it will be found that women are far more numerous 
among the followers of the Master, than men. This 
is one of the compensations in the Infinite Plan, for 
the curse she received at the Fall.' , 

Some of the members of the class exchanged 
glances of incredulity ; but Israel, unconsciously adopt- 
ing the expression of a work in the French language, 
which he had lately translated, said, in a low voice, 
" Vous avez raison." 

"It appeared," now spoke one of the young men of 
the class, " that when Moses asked Pharaoh that they 
might go and serve the Lord, and Pharaoh said, Who 
are they that shall go ? Moses said, We will go with our 
young and with our old, with our sons and with our 
daughters, with our flpcks and with our herds will we 
go : for we must hold a feast unto the Lord. Not so, 
answered Pharaoh ; go now ye that are men, and 
serve the Lord. It seemed, then, that Moses and 
Aaron made some account of the daughters as well as 
the sons, in distinctive enumeration." 

" That," said the teacher, " was with reference to 
the event, which was one of joy — a feast not of 
suffering. The benefits of circumcision as a ceremonial 
observance accrued equally to the female as to the male." 

" In all mention of the ancient Church, the promise 
includes the seed of the Father of believers," observed 
another. 

" What evidence," asked Israel, " do we find in the 
New Testament of any change taking effect in the 
state of woman after the incarnation of Christ? " 

" Turn to i Cor. 7 : 14" said he, " and there you 



56 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

learn that the believing wife of an unbelieving 
husband makes the children holy, or members of the 
Church, and partakers of the covenant of grace. If she 
be a true believer, she will avail herself of the benefits 
of the Abrahamic covenant to the childrenof believers, 
which is promised to be everlasting. She will be 
faithful to instruct her children in the faith, and bring 
them to the participation of its sacramental fruits, in 
answer to the seal which she caused to be placed upon 
them in their infancy." 

" We infer, then, that the coming of Christ, not only 
effected the scheme of Redemption of the human 
family, but preeminently redeemed the condition of 
woman," remarked a member. 

" The fourth age of the world brings us to the 
Passover," the teacher resumed. M Upon the four- 
teenth day of the first month, which was the fourth 
of May, Monday evening with us, did this event take 
place. (Ex. 12: 11.) Here we find that the paschal 
lamb was to be for every house, unless the household 
be too little for the lamb, in which case, the neighbor 
was to unite, according to the number of souls. 

" Not long after this, we read of a baptism of the 
chosen people by God himself: ' Moreover, brethren, 
I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all 
our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed 
through the sea ; and were all baptized unto Moses, 
in the cloud and in the sea.' And yet they all walked 
upon dry land in the midst of the sea. You will here 
mark that God must have baptized children as well as 
the heads of families ; but more of this hereafter," he 
concluded, for the bell announcing the close of the 
exercises rung - . 



IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 57 



CHAPTER II. 

IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL, CONTINUED. 

On the following Sabbath, the subject for their 
lesson being continued, the teacher said, " Perhaps I 
have already said enough to satisfy you that the 
baptism of Christ was in obedience to the old law 
pertaining to the covenant of God with the faithful 
children of Abraham." 

" It is not clear to me," said Israel, " what connec- 
tion exists between the Old and the New dispen- 
sations ; or, rather, what evidence is found in the New 
Testament of the transmission of the benefits of the 
Abrahamic covenant and the ancient laws given to 
God's people." 

" In Gal. 3 : 24, we read : 'Wherefore the law was 
our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we 
might be justified by faith.' And again : ' Christ is 
the end of the law for righteousness to every one that 
believeth.' Hence, in this dispensation they baptized 
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost. 

"Turn to the second chapter of Acts, thirty-eighth 
and thirty-ninth verses : ' Then Peter said unto them, 
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name 
of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise 



58 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

is unto you and to your children, and to all that are 
afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.' 

" Here is the most impressive allusion to the 
promise made to Abraham — to be a God unto him 
and to his seed after him. To you and to your chil- 
dren, says Peter. He also exhorts every one of them 
to repent and be baptized. As his hearers were com- 
posed of representatives of many nations, this strictly 
verifies the promise to Abraham, ' Thou shalt be a 
father of many nations.' 

" You will here notice that this was the opening 
event of what is called the Christian dispensation ; it 
was based by the apostle upon the Promise. In Paul's 
epistle to the Romans, fourth chapter and sixteenth 
verse, we find these words : ' Therefore it is of faith, 
that it might be by grace ; to the end the promise 
might be sure to all the seed : not to that only which 
is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of 
Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, 
I have made thee a father of many nations.') 

" These words alone, without the aid of further 
testimony of the writings of the apostles, clearly show 
the transmission of the blessings of the exceeding 
great and precious promise included in the covenant 
with Abraham, to the disciples of the new dispensa- 
tion." 

" Granting this," said Israel, u I cannot see but that 
immersion is the example of baptism under the Chris- 
tian dispensation, and its subjects only believers." 

" Looking at one point at a time, we next consider 
the mode of baptism," continued the teacher. 

u You must be aware that the Greek word for the 



IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 59 

English word ' baptize ' can faithfully be rendered ' bap- 
tize,' ' wash,' ' drown,' ' sprinkle,' ' dip,' 'plunge,' ' over- 
whelm.' The only way that remains to us to determine 
which meaning of the word baptizo was intended to 
be used, as instructing the true method of interpretation, 
is a comparison of all the passages in the Bible which 
use this word. This, certainly, will be admitted as 
honesty in sacred hermeneutics. 

a We have already seen that the baptism of the Isra- 
elites in the cloud and in the sea could not have signi- 
fied to immerse. This points clearly to a spiritual or 
internal baptism, as does also that passage in Rom. 
6:3,4, ' Know ye not that so many of us as were bap- 
tized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death ? 
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism, into 
death.' The apostle also says, ' Know ye not that as 
many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were 
baptized into his death ? ' That these figures cannot 
teach in a literal sense or prove a baptism by immer- 
sion, is evident from all the doctrine of. the context. 
The 'buried with him by baptism' no more points to a 
literal immersion than does that kindred passage : 
' Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with 
him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,' point 
to a literal crucifixion of the disciple. If it were 
literal, and the burial really taught the mode of bap- 
tism, the figure should be supported still further by 
putting on something according to the words : * For as 
many of you as have been baptized into Christ have 
put on Christ.' Or yet, the literal sense equally im- 
presses into its service the words, ' In whom also ye 
are circumcised with the circumcision made without 



60 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the 
flesh.' Here, something should be put off. 

" The unfairness of using these passages as instruc- 
tive of the mode of baptism is too clear to require much 
comment. ' God is a spirit, and they that worship him 
should worship him in spirit and in truth.' ' The wind 
bloweth where it listeth, and thou nearest the sound 
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither 
it goeth ; so is every one that is born of the spirit.' 
Every type pertaining to Christ, received by his disci- 
ples, should be used in the spiritual sense. We have 
no right to make any likeness of his burial more than 
of his death. 

" Again, we find the fulfilment of the promise to the 
disciples that they should be baptized with the Holy 
Ghost, signified in the Day of Pentecost by the act of 
pouring out. 

" The baptism of the cups, and pots, and brazen 
vessels, and tables, alluded to in Mark 7 : 4, is more 
clearly illustrated in Numbers 19 : 18 — * And a clean 
person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and 
sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and 
upon the persons that were there,' etc." 

" But what means that passage in Hebrews 10 : 22 — 
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience 
and our bodies washed with pure water?" inquired 
Israel. " Does not the washing here signify something 
more than the act of aspersion ? " 

" As in the cases already mentioned, let us compare 
the passages where the word wash is used," said the 
teacher. 

" In the Old Testament, when Moses washed Aaron 



IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. OI 

and his sons, according to the command of God, before 
all the congregation, the whole body could not have 
been intended. 

" In John 13 : 8, 9, 10, we read, 'Jesus answered 
him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 
Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, 
but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, 
He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, 
but is clean every whit.' By a similar rule of inter- 
pretation we understand his words in Matt. 26: 12, 
' For in that she hath poured the ointment on my bodyj 
when in a previous verse it is distinctly stated, ' There 
came unto him a woman with an alabaster box of very 
precious ointment, and poured it on his head' " 

" Except ye be born of water and of the spirit," 
continued another member of the class — " does not 
1 born of water' foreshow baptism by immersion?" 

" No more," answered the teacher, " than do the 
words ' born of the spirit ' indicate absolute perfection 
of regeneration. If you accept one horn of the dilemma 
in a literal and complete figure, you must equally accept 
the other and become a Perfectionist, than which noth- 
ing is more absurd. Indeed I regard this verse as con- 
taining one of the strongest arguments in favor of a 
partial baptism of the person, as also the kindred one, 
' He who shall come after me shall baptize you with 
the Holy Ghost and with fire.' This baptism of the 
Holy Ghost in no wise was a complete immersion 
of the spirits of men into union with the Divine 
Spirit." 

" But why is it that John is stated to have baptized 
in the river Jordan, also that, when Jesus was baptized, 



62 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

he went up straightway out of the water? " now asked 
Israel. 

" Yes, and likewise Philip and the Eunuch went 
down both into the water, and they came up out of 
the water," added another of the students. 

" And they baptized in Enon because there* was 
much water there," pursued a third. 

" Now he is surely out and quite lost," reflected 
Israel triumphantly. 

"Both you and I have studied the Greek sufficiently 
to know that all those words which in English place 
the persons engaged in the rite of baptism in the 
water, also the coming ottt of the water, etc., could 
just as easily and honestly be rendered by other prep- 
ositions. A laborious investigator* of this part of 
translation has taken pains to furnish the following 
statement, which, thinking it might be useful as 
well as curious to you, I have brought with me to- 
day : — 

" ' The Greek word in those places translated in is 
en. The word expressing Jesus went up out of the 
water, is afto. The word expressing Philip and the 
Eunuch went down into the water, is eis. The 
word expressing they went out of the water, is ek. 

" ' I have examined those prepositions in all those 
five books, how they are translated in every place 
where they are used. There are, of all that I have ex- 
amined, 2859. En is used 1033 times, of which 47 
are rendered in adverbs. In 25 cases the sense is 

* Rev. Ebenezer Chaplin. From this author the teacher 
derived many of his arguments, which appear in this and the 
foregoing chapter. 



IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 63 

involved in other words, so that there is no distinct 
word in English answering to en in the Greek. 
The rest, 964, are rendered in English prepositions, 
seventeen different ways ; viz., in, by, with, amo?zg, 
within, for, under, at, through, on, before, unto, 
into, of, to, about, over. It is translated in more 
than all the rest. But it is rendered at 53 times, by 
44, with 42, among 45, on 30. The rest are less, as 
10, 7, etc. 

" ' The word afto I have found used 423 times in 
those five books ; 6 are rendered adverbs, 1 1 are in- 
volved. The rest, 406, are rendered in English prep- 
ositions, 13 different ways. It is translated from 
235 times, all the rest 172 ; so that from is many more 
than all the rest. 

" ' The word eis is used in those first five books of the 
New Testament 955 times; 17 are rendered adverbs, 
36 are involved. The rest, 902, are rendered in 
English prepositions, seventeen different ways. It is 
rendered into 388, to 188, unto 97, in 86, on \^,for 
23, at 18, against 18 ; the rest are less, as 10, 8, etc. 

" ' Ek is found 446 times in the same books ; 4 are 
rendered adverbs, 6 are involved. The remainder, 435, 
are rendered in English prepositions, thirteen different 
ways. It is rendered of 191, from 102, out of 77, on 
30, with 17.'" 

" How are we to arrive at a certainty respecting the 
translation of any passage, if the original words can 
be rendered in so many ways?" asked one present, 
who had no acquaintance with any language but his 
own. 

" Only by the obvious sense of the word in connec- 



6\ AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

tion with the spirit of kindred passages," replied the 
teacher. After a moment's pause, he continued, 
"In those countries, the multitudes who gathered for 
baptism could only be accommodated near the water. 
This was necessary for the comfort of themselves and 
their beasts. As they were a nomadic people, and 
being in the wilderness, vessels were not convenient. 
In Mark, we find it stated that John began to baptize 
in the wilderness. In John, it reads, 4 These things 
were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John 
was baptizing.' 

"Likewise, in the case of Philip and the Eunuch, it 
will be noticed that recourse to water by the wayside 
was a necessity. But here the translators have not 
been faithful to their own rules. In connection with 
the baptism of Christ, the word rendered ' out of the 
water ' is c afiof while in this position, the word 
having the same translation is c ek. y 

"It is just as true to say that they went by or from 
the water as out of it. 

" The case of baptism in Enon is explained like- 
wise by reference to the original, where it reads, ' for 
there were many waters there.' These numerous 
springs, or waters, would accommodate the multitudes 
who flocked to the baptism of John." 

" That he could not have immersed so many, is evi- 
dent from the multitudes who received the rite. This 
also appears in connection with the baptism at the Day 
of Pentecost, when three thousand were added to the 
Church in one day. It would have been impossible to 
have immersed so many. 

" In regard to your other point of difficulty, respect- 



IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 6$ 

ing believers being the only proper subjects of bap- 
tism," continued the clergyman, " here I must again 
insist upon the spiritual meaning of the outward act. 
The baptism of infants who have not arrived at suffi- 
cient age to participate in the act of faith themselves, 
is always in the faith of one or more responsible be- 
lievers." 

u Since Christ was circumcised in his infancy," said 
Israel, " and if baptism came in the room of circum- 
cision, why was it necessary for him to be baptized 
upon his own responsibility? Or rather, if children 
are now sprinkled in the room of circumcision, why 
should they not again be baptized upon profession of 
their faith, after the pattern of Christ?" 

" It reads, ' Except a man be born of water and of 
the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.' The 
birth of water is mentioned first, as coming in the 
divine order, before the birth of the spirit. It is cer- 
tain that Christ's baptism, though accompanied by 
water, was a spiritual one, for the heavens being 
opened, the Spirit of God descended like a dove, 
and lighted upon him. From this event commenced 
his divine career among men." 

" But why was he circumcised, if the first act of his 
baptism, namely, that of water, was typical of that 
rite?" pursued Israel. 

" While subject unto his parents, he deported him- 
self like a natural child, and was subject to the natural 
rite ; but when he assumed his divine mission, he insti- 
tuted the spiritual nature of the natural baptism. 
Hence, the special spiritual manifestation from 
heaven. 

5 



66 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

Israel looked as though not perfectly satisfied, but 
he forbore to follow his questions in that line of diffi- 
culty. His next words were : " The Baptists assert, 
as I think with good reason, that there is not a single 
instance of infant baptism in the Scriptures." 

" We also assert, with no less confidence, that the 
children of proselytes to the faith of the Gospel were 
baptized, with their parents, by the apostles," answered 
the teacher. 

" But you will hardly venture to claim an explicit 
mention of a case of the baptism of a child," continued 
Israel, smiling triumphantly. 

" That there is no mention of the baptism of one of 
the twelve apostles is no argument against the validity 
or universality of baptism in the apostolic churches. 
Or yet is it any proof of their being under no necessity 
for regeneration, because no relation of the conversion of 
any of the twelve is found, other than their being called 
or chosen, and accepting their commission by the 
external act. It is rather a proof of the universality of 
the custom . of infant baptism, and not less of its 
approval by Christ ; else, he would have somewhere 
brought his condemnation upon it. On the contrary, 
the Saviour decidedly manifested his gracious love of 
children by taking them in his arms and blessing 
them. Observe, he never baptized adults ; but he 
deigned to perform this act of condescension, and 
taught the ambitious disciples to receive the little 
child in his name. One of the evangelists says 
that Jesus called a little child unto him, and set 
him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say 
unto you, except ye be converted and become as little 



IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 67 

children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven. 

" From this, we have a right to infer that Christ con- 
sidered the little child a more meet disciple of his 
kingdom than any of his adult followers. And lest 
this humble pattern should be undervalued, he adds, 
' Take heed that ye despise not one of these little 
ones : for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels 
do always behold the face of my Father which is in 
heaven.' 

"For myself," he continued, "were I the veriest 
believer of the Baptist doctrines, I should not dare 
despise, or in any wise underrate, the baptism of an 
infant, were there no other portion of Holy Writ in 
proof of the membership of children of the Christian 
Church." 

" If there were as clear evidence of the baptism of 
children as of their blessing and reception to Christ's 
favor, it would be more satisfactory to me," said 
Israel. " I have thought these passages inculcated a 
lesson of humility to all Christians, however eminent, 
rather than the obligation of the administration of a 
rite to children — like those other words of Christ, 
4 Whosoever will be greatest among you, let him be as 
the younger.' " 

" We do find, however," said the teacher, " that 
Lydia and her household were baptized, although no 
mention is made of any but herself being a believer ; — 
4 whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto 
the things which were spoken of Paul.' After 
their baptism, she said, * If ye have judged me to be 
faithful to the Lord (notz/5-), come into my house and 



68 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

abide there.' Here it appears that she bore the re- 
sponsibility of the faith of all her household. Had all 
of these been adults and capable of an independent act 
of faith, she, a woman of those days, would not have 
used this language. The household of Stephanas 
was also baptized. Paul said unto the jailer, ' Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and 
thine house.' As he had then seen only the jailer, he 
could not have known whether his household included 
any children too young to understand the faith he 
afterwards preached to them. The condition of the 
salvation of his household was only his own faith." 

"If you bring out so much stress upon the faith of 
parents and heads of families, where is the encourage- 
ment for the children of the evil and untoward gener- 
ation ? " inquired a member of the class. 

" St. Paul to the Ephesians answers your question," 
said the teacher, " in the second chapter, eleventh, 
twelfth and thirteenth verses : ' Wherefore remember, 
that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who 
are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the 
Circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that at 
that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from 
the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the 
covenants of promise, having no hope, and without 
God in the world : but now in Christ Jesus ye who 
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood 
of Christ: " 

" I remember being present at the funeral of an 
infant, at which a minister of your communion offici- 
ated," spoke Israel, "and that, in his address to the 
mourners, he offered the consolation of the safety of 



IN A CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL. 69 

their departed one, since it was the child of baptized 
believers. It occurred to me then, ought there to be 
any doubt respecting the salvation of an infant of the 
unbaptized unbelievers. May I ask your opinion upon 
this question ? " 

"It is not for me or any other to pronounce who 
is safe and who is not," answered the clergyman ; 
" yet we are permitted, with all saints, to search the 
Scriptures for the grounds of our faith. Paul says, 
4 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in 
heaven and earth is named.' Christ died for all, that 
all through him might be saved. All are therefore 
safe who do not refuse to accept the provisions of the 
efficacy of his death — the salvation through him. 
The infant cannot choose nor refuse. He is there- 
fore safe, as a member of the whole family of God. 
I do not recognize any distinction between the infants 
of the Circumcision or the Uncircumcision — the 
church or the world. But I am only an individual, 
not the exponent of the whole of my church." 

Here the session ended. 



70 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE BAPTISM BY ASPERSION. 

That afternoon, in the church, Israel witnessed the 
baptism of children. After the ordinary preliminary 
exercises, the minister descended the pulpit steps and 
stood near the table, on which was a small silver basin 
containing water. A father and mother came for- 
ward, the former holding an infant of months, while 
the mother led a little boy, of apparently three years. 

These persons were of a sober countenance, and 
had an expression of undoubting belief in the act in 
which they were engaging. They seemed to realize 
the peculiar blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. 
The curse contained in the words, "Whatsoever is 
not of faith is sin," was causeless to them in this 
baptism. 

The infant wore a long dress of white cashmere, 
wrought heavily with white silk ; the little boy, a 
blue coat, much braided. The first reminded Israel 
of the cherub of cunning work in the Tabernacle ; the 
other, of Hannah's child, who appeared in the temple 
in a new coat. 

And as of old did God promise to meet His people 
and commune with them from above the mercy-seat, 
and between the cherubim which are upon the ark 
of the testimony, now did His presence appear to 



THE BAPTISM BY ASPERSION. *Jl- 

come between these children and meet their parents 
with all in that congregation who, in like manner, 
believed. 

The officiating clergyman, who looked like a reverend 
man of wisdom, addressed a few words to the parents 
upon their duty and obligation as persons responsible 
for the Christian nurture of their children — the cur- 
rent of which words was somewhat marred by the ripple 
of wailing made by the babe. These discords faith- 
fully represented the earthy element in every mundane 
scene, however heavenly and beautiful. 

Israel said to himself, " The baby has been eating 
from the dish at the feast of Clodius, which was made 
of the costliest singing-birds." 

The minister took the infant in his own arms, and 
having exchanged words with the father in a low 
voice, placed water upon the forehead of the babe 
and said, " Harriet Newell Payson, I baptize you 
into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost." 

The little boy was then baptized by the name of 
Edwards Theodore. Israel noticed that he was very 
fair, with light, delicate locks falling upon his waxen 
neck. His unquestioning blue eyes looked like myrtle 
blossoms. He seemed like a young ear of corn 
which ripens among the white mulberry shades of 
Padua. 

Until this moment, he had not observed from his 
position another scene, in the background of this 
picture. There now drew near a woman advanced 
in years, into whose bruised hand the Lord had put 
the cup of trembling. She -wore deep mourning, 



72 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

though it was poor and rusty ; she had outlived many 
of her kindred, and the last one who had gone hence 
was the only son, the staff of her declining years. 
He had starved to death at Andersonville. 

Was it any marvel that her head was bowed, her 
eyes often filling with tears and her motions waver- 
ing? "Afflicted and drunken, but not with wine!" 
Even yet, she heard the words which had said to her 
soul, " Bow down, that we may go over." 

But why is she here ? 

She leads a boy of seven or eight summers, or rather 
winters — her only grandson, — the remnant of the 
dead hope — the living answer to the Lord's question, 
" By whom shall I comfort thee?" 

Precious lamb of the pitying Saviour's fold ! 
Angels shall feed thee ! ministering ones shall walk 
at thy side ! 

The boy has an old face, almost severe in its lines of 
thought and woe. Life has already taught him the 
lessons of sternest design, sharpest finish. 

He knows what it is to be hungry, to be very cold, 
to weep such tears as they keep in Vendome, impris- 
oned in a crystal phial, because the Saviour shed 
them, as tradition teaches. He grows in a shadow — 
not of the white mulberry-trees of sunny lands, but of 
the sighing pines and hemlocks laden with the ice of 
midwinter. But through their branches he sees the 
same stars in the heavens that shine over the mulberry- 
trees. 

Praise God ! 

The minister speaks words of consolation and aspi- 
ration to the poor old grandmother, and words of 



THE BAPTISM BY ASPERSION. 



73 



advice and encouragement to her boy — as though 
they- were regnant ones, clothed in shining raiment. 
Then he tenderly baptizes the child, not only into the 
Triune Name, but into that of the martyred parent of 
Andersonville. Many eyes fill with tears. The 
grandmother covers her face. But the boy moves 
not. His dark, speaking eyes, "like the eyes of those 
who can see the dead," look down at the feet of the 
minister, while the long lashes quiver a little upon 
the brown, gaunt cheek. 

It is certain that he takes into his soul every word 
uttered on that solemn occasion. His long head will 
suffer no shade of the shifting scene to escape. Very 
plain is the poor boy, but he is dowered. His father 
would have been a man of books as well as of deeds, 
had he lived, for the mother had doled out the last of 
her substance to help him on in his student career, 
and after. He had helped himself likewise, so that it 
wanted but a little time for him to have found a 
place which would have repaid all the efforts with 
interest. 

Now there was only this child. He was conse- 
crated to God publicly to-day, privately from the hour 
of his birth, when the mother had uttered a prayer for 
him and died, — when the father had sent afar off his 
latest thought from the edges of the lucid intervals of 
frantic starvation, — when the grandmother had taken 
the child to her heart, — from the earliest moment to 
the present. 

There was now, like a coming breath of joy of the 
witnessing angels of heaven over these children of 
Zion, — an awakening of the organ. A strain of 



74 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

ineffable tenderness, a Christ-like compassion, then an 
exultant paean filled all that house of God, — and 
died away as does the south wind over an Oriental 
garden of spices — the garden, typical of the Church ; 
— then the voice of the minister was heard in 
prayer. 

The prayer arose higher, as he talked with the 
Divine Ones, on wings of the fire of the Holy 
Ghost. 

He prayed to God. 

Christ interceded. And the people listened, some 
to pray, others to fear, yet others to wonder. 

Israel said to himself, " How amiable are thy 
tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts ! " 

That evening, he read with new appreciation the 
following words, found in a book entitled u Elim, or 
Hymns of Holy Refreshment : " — 

CHRIST AND THE LITTLE ONES. 

"The Master has come over Jordan," 
Said Hannah, the mother, one day; 

"Is healing the people who throng Him 
With a touch of His finger, they say. 

" And now I shall carry the children, — 
Little Rachel, and Samuel, and John; 
I shall carry the baby, Esther, 
For the Lord to look upon." 

The father looked at her kindly, 

But lie shook his head and smiled; 
" Now who but a doting mother 

Would think of a thing so wild! 



THE BAPTISM BY ASPERSION. 75 

' If the children were tortured by demons, 

Or dying of fever, 'twere well ; 
Or had they the taint of the leper, 
Like many in Israel." 

1 Nay, do not hinder me, Nathan, 

I feel such a burden of care ; 
If I carry it to the Master, 

Perhaps I shall leave it there. 

' If He lay his hand on the children, 
My heart will be lighter, I know ; 
For a blessing forever and ever 
Will follow them as they go." 

So over the hills of Judah, 

Along by the vine-rows green, 
With Esther asleep on her bosom, 

And Rachel her brothers between ; 

'Mong the people who hung on His teaching, 

Or waited His touch and His word, 
Through the row of proud Pharisees listening, 
She pressed to the feet of the Lord. 

; Now why shouldst thou hinder the Master," 

Said Peter, "with children like these? 
Seest not how from morning till evening 
He teacheth, and healeth disease ? " 

Then Christ said, " Forbid not the children, 

Permit them to come unto me ; " 
And He took in His arms little Esther, 

And Rachel He set on His knee ; 

And the heavy heart of the mother 

Was lifted all earth-care above, 
As He laid His hand on the brothers, 

And blest them with tenderest love; 



*j6 AMONG the congregationalists. 

As He said of the babes in His bosom, 
" Of such are the kingdom of heaven 
And strength for all duty and trial, 
That hour to her spirit was given. 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. *]>] 



CHAPTER IV. 

TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. 

The next day, Israel called at the study of the cler- 
gyman whose ministrations he had attended for some 
Sundays previous. 

This minister was a leading one of the city of 
Israel's present residence, a graduate of Yale College 
and of Andover Theological Seminary, a man of 
ancient and honorable ancestry, (as is very desirable 
for a representative of a sect which lays its finger 
reverently upon covenants extending back to Adam,) 
and a fair exponent of the right wing of Congrega- 
tionalism, in that section. 

The left wing of that sect has ministers of another 
type ; leaders of people are these also, but a different 
class. A hearer would not know precisely who these 
are or what they believe, not even after examining 
their own record. But the left wing preachers are 
always in the high enjoyment of popularity. 

The Reverend Charles Ingersoll was not a Doctor 
of Divinity. Had he been a minister of either of 
two or three other sects, his reputation would have 
secured a thrice dubbing of the human-divine degree ; 
but this denomination is much more conservative in 
the bestowment of their honors than some others. 
He was none the less a man to be revered. 



78 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

He received Israel with urbanity, yet with a certain 
formality and reservation of confidence that often 
characterize these persons with strangers. 

After some circumlocution, the difficulty in hand 
transpired. 

"Until recently," said Israel, "I have thought of 
uniting with the Baptists, inferring from the instruc- 
tion received from them, that they and they only, 
were right ; accident brought me among your 
people, of which I was glad, as I had been recom- 
mended to examine more than one side of a question 
so vital to one's interest as the church with which to 
unite." 

The clergyman levelled his eye upon Israel, with the 
expression which a man wears who believes in high 
Calvinism, with a low estimate of such questions as 
Woman's Rights and the rights of all unprivileged 
classes. 

" If I may trouble you to assist me a little in my 
investigations, sir, I shall be thankful," continued 
Israel. 

"What can I do for you?" asked Mr. Ingersoll, 
very quietly and with a half-suppressed smile. 

Israel noticed this look, ajid felt that he was not 
" appreciated," as certain sensitive and half-sustained 
people say ; but he had too much breadth of calibre, 
too deep a sense of the magnitude of the work in 
which he was engaged, to wholly abandon himself to 
this painful consciousness. A young man with a sin- 
cere purpose carries a power with him, not to be 
vanquished in any slight encounter, provided this 
good seed has been sown on the soil of common sense. 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. ^Q 

" Then you have thought of uniting with the Bap- 
tists?" spoke the clergyman. 

" To listen only to their words of themselves and 
their authority, as also of others and their authority, a 
youth like myself might easily be persuaded that way," 
replied Israel. 

"What did they teach you about us?" continued the 
clergyman, extending his hand upon the open book 
before him with a certain indescribable decision. 

" That you had no authority in the Bible for your 
mode of baptism, and for the baptism of children who 
were not believers. But this point has been con- 
sidered by my Sunday School teacher, in the school 
connected with your church. That the practice of 
your sect in this regard dates back but a short time, 
comparatively into antiquity, the only regular baptism 
throughout the Christian world for more than a thou- 
sand years being immersion, and that " — 

"Stay," here spoke Mr. Ingersoll ; "let us pause to 
consider this objection, before passing to others." 

He took down a book from his library, and opening 
it, said, "Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, who was a 
disciple of Polycarp (who was a disciple of John the 
Evangelist), and, as some believe, was born before 
the death of the latter, has left these words." He 
read, " Christ came to save all persons through him- 
self — all, I say, who through him are regenerated 
unto God ; infants and little ones, and children and 
youth, and the aged. Therefore he passed through 
the several stages of life, being made an infant for 
infants, that he might sanctify infants ; and for little 
ones, a little one, to sanctify them of that age." 



80 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

Next, from another book, he read as follows : 
" Listen to Tertullian. ' According to the condition, 
disposition, and age of each, the delay of baptism 
is peculiarly advantageous, especially in the case of 
little children (parvulos). Why should the godfathers 
be brought into danger? For they may fail by death 
to fulfil their promises, or through the perverseness of 
the child. Our Lord indeed says, Forbid them not 
to come unto me. Let them come, then, when of 
adult age. Let them come when they can learn ; 
when they are taught w/iy they come. Let them 
become Christians when they shall have learned 
Christ. Why hasten that innocent age to the forgive- 
ness of sins ? ' 

" Tertullian was born about 160, at Carthage. His 
career was less than a century of the apostolic age. 
Yet you will notice that he speaks of infant baptism 
as a prevailing custom of the churches. If it was 
contrary to the authority of Scripture and the customs 
of the early Church, why did he not bring these state- 
ments as arguments against it? It is certain, from his 
words, that the practice of infant baptism was a 
general one in his day, and he does not allude to it as 
an innovation, or as contrary to the teachings of 
Christ." 

" It seems hardly possible," here commented Israel, 
"that, with such facts as these upon the common page 
of history, persons who profess to be reliable critics 
of the present day can boldly utter such statements as 
those to which I have referred respecting the origin 
of infant sprinkling." 

" Let us turn to Origen," said the minister. " He, 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. 8 1 

as you may remember, was born in 185, at Alexan- 
dria. He was a man of profound learning, studied 
philosophy under Ammonius, and theology under 
Clemens Alexandrinus. He travelled extensively, so 
that he was acquainted with the churches in every 
country. These are his words : ' Little children are 
baptized agreeably to the usage of the Church ; the 
Church received it as a tradition from the Apostles that 
baptism should be administered to children.' Accord- 
ing to Eusebius, Origen received this instruction from 
his pious ancestry, who of the second or third genera- 
tion from him must have been contemporaries with 
the Apostles. 

" We learn also from history," continued Mr. Inger- 
soll, " that in the time of Cyprian, who was converted 
to Christianity about A. D. 246, and afterwards became 
Bishop of Carthage, that there arose a query in the 
African churches whether a child might be baptized 
before the eighth day or not." 

He opened a book to this item, and read, " ' Fidus, 
a country bishop, referred the inquiry to a council of 
sixty-six bishops, convene^ under Cyprian, A. D. 253-, 
for their opinion. To this inquiry they reply at length, 
delivering it as their unanimous opinion that baptism 
may, with propriety, be administered at any time pre^ 
vious to the eighth day.' 

"If the practice was altogether wrong, why was 
not some objection raised on an occasion so favorable 
for the adjustment of difficulties as a council of 
bishops? On the contrary, the practice was not only 
defended, but left as a rite which was obligatory," said 
the minister. 

6 



82 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

"St. Augustine, who spent the greater part of his 
life in controversy, and whose works form eleven 
folio volumes, has left many passages to show that 
this rite was a common and established usage of the 
Church. His words are : 'The custom of our mother- 
church, in baptizing little children, is by no means 
to be disregarded, nor accounted as in any measure 
superfluous. Neither, indeed, is it to be regarded as 
any other than an apostolical tradition.' Of this, he 
also writes, ' ®)uod universa tenet ecclesia nee con- 
ciliis institutum, sed semper retentum? 

"This ancient father was born in 354. So much, 
and more, may be cited in reply to the Baptist 
accusation of the lack of antiquity of our peculiar 
rite." 

"Here," observed Israel, "the homely saying is 
verified : ' One story is good till another is told.' " 

"There is nothing in regard to these things like 
reading for yourself, and not trusting to the statements 
of any man," said the clergyman. 

At this juncture a low knock upon the door arrested 
tfte conversation. The servant showed in a gentleman 
whom Mr. Ingersoll introduced to Israel as the Rev. 
Mr. O'Hara, pastor of the third Orthodox Congrega- 
tional Church of that city. 

The Reverend O'Hara was a man of the left wing 
of Congregationalism, as at present represented in 
America, and especially in its flourishing parishes. 
He was considered a great orator, a good fellow in 
the common acceptation of that term, and a decidedly 
rising man, not only in his profession, but in the 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. 83 

general ways and means of getting ahead in this 
world. 

His record as to antecedents of piety and educa- 
tion was rather mystical. People of limited culture 
thought he used " splendid language," and was " a most 
interesting preacher." Conversions, according to the 
standard of the strictest of his sect, were very rare 
under his ministrations, though he was not without a 
record of revivals. 

As he drew crowded houses, like any "star," he 
was not meddled with by the more conservative. 
But they thought he was rather coarse, and that it 
was strange he came to be a Congregationalist. Some 
of these privately sniffed "a man of straw" under 
his coat ; but all great geniuses have their enemies. 
By degrees, the topic of that morning came to Mr. 
O'Hara's knowledge, and the conversation was 
resumed. 

"The Baptists," said he, "are a sect who are 
very peculiar. They have no liberal ideas. In fact, 
they remind one of the ram of Daniel's vision. That 
ram, you know, • had two horns, and the two horns 
were high ; but one was higher than the other, and the 
higher came up last. These two horns of the Baptist 
ram are immersion and close co?nmunion" 

"Which is the higher horn?" asked Mr. Ingersoll. 

" O, close communion, among our American Bap- 
tists," he answered, laughing heartily, while he used 
his knife industriously upon his finger nails. 

" Their arguments upon this point of their belief are 
quite formidable," remarked Israel. 

"Formidable as the ram's horn. With this, and 



84 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

dipping all over, they push in all directions, and think 
themselves very great." 

" Let me see," said Mr. Ingersoll, " I don't exactly 
remember the history of that beast of the prophet's 
vision." He opened the Bible on the table before him. 

" I can tell you," continued O'Hara, tipping back 
his chair and elevating his hands ; "there came along a 
goat from the West, — the West has always been a 
great place for conquerors, you see, — and he saw the 
ram with the two horns standing before the river, — 
there you have the water Baptists again, — and he 
pitched into him, in the fury of his power, with his 
one horn (which is infant sprinkling), and busted the 
ram all up into nobody, breaking his two horns, crack- 
ing his skull, and casting him down to the ground." 

Israel laughed, though not heartily. Mr. Ingersoll 
hardly smiled, while he continued examining the 
Bible. At length he said quietly, "You dispose 
of your Baptist brethren rather summarily." 

"Not a whit more than they dispose of us. To 
hear them preach about the errors of people who do 
not dip, and of their own righteousness in keeping the 
commandments in their big basins of baptisteries 
while they sanctimoniously exclude all others from 
their sacrament-table, you would think that ' filthy rags 
ought to rise ten per cent, so as to bring down the 
price of all kinds of paper used for certificates of 
church membership." 

" I must say, that I have thought the Baptists 
far more careful about their terms of communion on 
the ground of immersion than they are of morality," 
said Mr. Ingersoll. 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. 85 

" They know full well that the moment they let 
down their bars of communion, they make void their 
law in regard to dipping, and their existence in this 
country is at an end. Besides, it is in conformity to 
their likes and dislikes, to draw such small cords 
around their little, narrow, contracted folds. If their 
people were more enlightened, they could not keep 
them penned up in that shape, like simple sheep," 
Mr. O'Hara continued, while he took several new 
positions for his feet and hands. 

" There is no Scripture authority for their doctrine 
of close communion," said Mr. Ingersoll, addressing 
himself now to Israel ; " on the contrary, many words 
of our Saviour go to inculcate the unity and fellow- 
ship of all his disciples of all his folds." 

"That is too evident to need any proof," said 
O'Hara ; " nobody but descendants of the Anabaptists, 
who used to run about the streets of Munster naked, 
would think of setting up any such ridiculous doctrine 
as close communion of those who have been all over 
in the water, in one particular little sect, — as though 
they were the infallible Church of God." 

" But they have many names of which to boast 
among their sect," said Israel, " notwithstanding their 
cousinship to the Anabaptists." 

" O yes, what sect has not? There was old Roger 
Williams, a turn-coat from the Church of England 
and also from Congregationalism. He it was [this 
he said very emphatically] who refused to hold com- 
munion with the Church of Boston because they 
would not make a confession of guilt for having 
communed with the Episcopal Church while they 



86 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

were in England. A beautiful man was he to start 
close communion in America ! Very consistent were 
his professions of toleration to all religions ! " 

" But he is quoted by the Baptists and also by 
others, as the pioneer of the system of pure religious 
toleration," said Israel. 

" Persons with such a limited knowledge of history 
as those prove themselves to be, who make such grave 
falsities respecting the origin of infant baptism, may 
be pardoned for a parallel inaccuracy respecting the 
originator of religious toleration," said O'Hara. 
''Mackintosh says," he went on, " ' The government 
of Cromwell made as near approach to general toler- 
ation as public prejudice would endure ; and Sir 
Henry Vane, an Independent, was probably the first 
who laid down with perfect precision the inviolable 
rights of conscience, and the exemption of religion 
from all civil authority.' But Roger Williams has 
an undisputed claim as the originator of a free form 
of baptism ; in that he got Ezekiel Holyman, a man 
who had not been baptized, to dip him all over, that 
he might start the Baptists in Rhode Island. The 
man's name answered his conscience as a qualified 
administrator of the ordinance, I conclude. Roger 
Williams probably supplied Tom Jefferson with his 
notions of a republican government about as much as 
did another Baptist minister, who sent him, when 
President, an enormous cheese made by his parish- 
ioners in Cheshire, supply him with opinions in 
astronomy." 

Israel no longer wondered that this man was heard 
by the crowds. 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. 87 

"Some have supposed," said Mr. Ingersoll, "that 
the Baptist Church of Holland, composed of English 
refugees, was perpetuated by means of their minister, 
Mr. Smyth, having baptized himself. This, however, 
is denied by some authorities." 

" Likewise," continued O'Hara, " they should fol- 
low the usage of the Dark Ages, and have the church 
bell baptized, that it might drive demons out of the 
air in thundery weather." 

" They would not allow us Congregationalists so 
much antiquity as a church bell in the Dark Ages," 
said Mr. Ingersoll. 

"Antiquity?" repeated Mr. O'Hara, "what supe- 
rior claim can the Baptists put forth to that, as a sep- 
arate church organization? There is no account of 
such a church until the seventeenth century. And 
the American Baptists owe their origin to the man 
whom we have just contemplated !" 

"May I inquire," now spoke Israel, " at what time 
the Congregationalists date their origin as a sect?" 

" As a separate denomination of Christians," said 
Mr. Ingersoll, with renewed dignity, " we refer our 
foundation to John Robinson, in 1602. He was the 
pastor of an Independent church in the north of 
England. Before that time, Robinson belonged to 
the Brownists, who, at first, were disciples of Robert 
Brown, the first originator of the principles of Inde- 
pendency, or Congregationalism. As Brown after- 
wards recanted ancT returned to the Church of Eng- 
land, these people looked to Mr. Robinson as their 
leader. His followers were not wholly like the Brown- 
ists, having more moderation in their opinions and 



8S AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

method, in their church government. Some authori- 
ties state that the first Independent or Congregational 
church in England was established in 1616, by a 
Mr. Jacob ; but these call Mr. Robinson the real 
founder of the sect. While in England, this Church 
received much persecution." 

"Yes," interposed Mr. O'Hara, " our people have 
had their share of baptism in the enemy's lire." 

" Which, I suppose, " said Israel, " means that 
they were aspersed or sprinkled with the cleansing 
element of opposing ire, while the Baptists received 
similar purification by a larger measure." 

" You will have the goodness to remember that we 
use figures and shadows as such, and by them mean 
the higher and truer element of thought," returned Mr. 
O'Hara, laughing. 

" He does not mean that those early Independents 
were wholly destroyed or completely burned in the 
persecuting fire, as a people, though this actually took 
place in individual instances," remarked Mr. Ingersoll. 

"As a people they got their garments pretty well 
singed — that is all," said Mr. O'Hara. 

" Independency then inculcated the doctrine of the 
absolute right of each church to govern itself, 'that 
regenerated men in church fellowship should be left 
unfettered, and that Christianity was a question be- 
tween God and man.' In 1620, the younger members 
of Mr. Robinson's church came to Plymouth in New 
England. Here, they strove to avoid the evils of 
extreme Independency as well as Prelacy ; and they 
early established a Congregational form of govern- 
ment, disclaiming the title of Independent. The 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. 89 

words of Samuel Mather about this are : i The 
churches of New England are Congregational. They 
do not approve the name of Independent, and are 
abhorrent from such principles of Independency as 
would keep them from giving an account of their 
matters to members of neighboring churches regularly 
demanding it of them. , 

"The Puritan Church was stimulated to seek eman- 
cipation from the errors into which they might have 
been insensibly drawn, by the remarkable counsel of 
Mr. Robinson in his Fast Sermon, which was preached 
to his people a short time before their departure for 
America." 

Mr. Ingersoll now opened an ancient-looking vol- 
ume, and said, H Here is an extract from that memo- 
rable sermon : ' Brethren, we are now quickly to part 
from one another, and whether I may ever live to see 
your faith on earth any more, the God of heaven only 
knows ; but whether the Lord hath appointed that or 
not, I charge you before God and his blessed angels, 
that you follow me no farther than you have seen me 
follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If God reveal any- 
thing to you, by any other instrument of his, be as 
ready to receive it as ever you were to receive any 
truth by my ministry ; for I am verily persuaded — I 
am very confident, that the Lord has more truth yet 
to break forth out of his holy word.' " 

"Very sensible that," here interposed Mr. O'Hara, 
who had been charged by his ministerial brethren with 
heresy upon some of the points of the creed of his 
church. But this deflection was mostly kept concealed 
in the ministers' meetings. 



90 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

"He must have referred, at least by a kind of pre- 
sentiment, to the Confession of Faith issued by the 
Congregational churches in 1680, entitled 'The Cam- 
bridge and Saybrook Platforms,' " said Mr. Ingersoll. 

"Or," said Mr. O'Hara, "it might have been to the 
half-way Covenant of 1657, which taught, ' That it 
was the duty of those who came to the years of dis- 
cretion, baptized in their infancy, to own the Covenant. 
And if they understood the grounds of religion, and 
were not scandalous, and solemnly owned the Cov- 
enant, giving up themselves and their children to the 
Lord, baptism might not be denied to their children.' " 

This he said to offset the construction of Mr. Inger- 
soll upon the words of John Robinson. Mr. Ingersoll 
was known to be very. strict in his view of the neces- 
sity of a clear evidence of regeneration as one of the 
qualifications for church membership. 

"To continue with the words of Mr. Robinson," 
said Mr. Ingersoll, while the other minister applied 
his knife with new vigor to the sole of his elevated 
boot, " ' I must also advise you to abandon, avoid,' and 
shake off the name of Brownist. It is a mere nick- 
name, and a brand for the making religion, and the 
professors of it, odious to the Christian world.' " 

Mr. Ingersoll was an honest man ; and if he had 
been asked what he had omitted in this letter between 
the two paragraphs which he read, he would have 
given it. As it was, he deemed it the part of wisdom 
to read no more. It remained for Israel to hear the 
missing and most remarkable portion from the lips of 
one who believed less with John Calvin than did Mr. 
Ingersoll. 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. 



91 



" Who do you consider your most eminent divines?" 
asked Israel. 

"There are John Cotton, Increase and Cotton 
Mather, Thomas Hooker, Hopkins, the two Ed- 
wardses (father and son), Bellamy, Smalley, Dwight — 
among the earlier writers upon our faith ; while among 
the later, it would be almost invidious to endeavor to 
institute a suitable comparison of talent in the array 
of so many eminent names as we have. 

u We consider our sect to be foremost in the educa- 
tional ranks," continued Mr. Ingersoll ; " we have 
founded the majority of colleges in New England 
alone, two theological seminaries, and many excellent 
academies. Our missionary operations are also second 
to those of no other sect." 

"I do not think I fully understand the articles of 
your creed, which are necessary to be endorsed in 
order to become one of your number," here spoke 
Israel. 

"Our churches do not all have the same creed," 
said Mr. O'Hara. 

"How is that?" asked Israel, somewhat astonished ; 
"are you not all consociated upon terms of fraternal 
action and fellowship ?" 

" O, yes ; we fellowship each other upon essential 
points of faith. Each church has a right to make or 
alter its own creed, however, while other churches 
can withdraw their fellowship, if they please. Some 
of our churches have some modifications of the views 
of Calvin, Hopkins, Emmons, or other standard," 
said Mr. O'Hara, looking significantly at his fellow- 
laborer. 



92 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

" I have often heard of Calvinism and Calvinistic 
churches," said Israel with much simplicity of man- 
ner ; "but I never exactly knew what were the articles 
of that faith ; I have heard that the vital points might 
be summed up under the names of predestination, 
particular redemption, total depravity, effectual call- 
ing, and final perseverance. I confess that I do not 
understand the full import of these formidable names." 

"Nor do I," said Mr. O'Hara, drily; "that is to 
say, I do not understand them as John Calvin did. 
You have heard of the ' Five Points' of Calvinism? 
Let me repeat them to you, verbatim." 

" Had we not better give this young man some 
explanation of these terms in theology, in order to 
prepare his mind, for the reception of truth which, 
otherwise, might be objectionable?" now asked Mr. 
Ingersoll, with a slight loss of his usual poise. 

" I object to any private interpretations of a public 
creed," said Mr. O'Hara ; " if the creed is sound and 
kind, as we say of a good family horse, it will carry 
us through to the better country, safely and surely ; 
but if not, why then let it fall to the place where it 
belongs, which is under the bridge." 

"But then," persisted Mr. Ingersoll, moving un- 
easily, "there is a difference in the manner of express- 
ing the same truth." 

" Here you have it," said Mr. O'Hara, beginning 
with the first word of the "Five Points," and not stop- 
ping till he came to the last. It was, in abbrevia- 
tion, like this : — 

I. "That God hath chosen a certain number of the 
fallen race of Adam, in Christ, before the foundation 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. 93 

of the world, unto eternal glory, according to His 
immutable purpose, and of His free grace and love, 
without the least foresight of faith, good works, or 
any conditions performed by the creature, and that the 
rest of mankind He was pleased to pass by, and ordain 
to dishonor and wrath, for their sins, to the praise of 
His vindictive justice. 

II. " That though the death of Christ be a most 
perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for sins of infinite 
value, and abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of 
the whole world ; and though, on this ground, the 
Gospel is to be preached to all mankind indiscrim- 
inately ; yet it was the will of God, that Christ, by the 
blood of the cross, should efficaciously redeem all 
those, and those only, who were from eternity elected 
to salvation and given to him by the Father. 

III. "That mankind are totally depraved in con- 
sequence of the fall of the first man, who, being their 
public head, his sins involved the corruption of all his 
posterity ; and which corruptiofi extends over the whole 
soul, and renders it unable to turn to God, or to do 
anything truly good, and exposes it to His righteous 
displeasure, both in this world and that which is to 
come. 

IV. "That all whom God hath predestinated unto 
eternal life, He is pleased in his appointed time effect- 
ually to call by his word and spirit out of that state 
of sin and death in which they were by nature, to 
grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. 

V. " That those whom God has effectually called 
and sanctified by His spirit, shall never finally fall 
from a state of grace. That true believers may fall 



94 AMONG THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

partially, and would fall totally and finally, but for 
the mercy and faithfulness of God, who helpeth the 
feet of His saints ; also, that he who bestoweth the 
grace of perseverance, bestoweth it by means of 
reading and hearing the word, meditation, exhorta- 
tions, threatenings and promises ; but that none of these 
things imply the possibility of a believer's falling from 
a state of justification." 

" Calvin likewise taught the doctrine of the Trinity," 
said Mr. Ingersoll ; "the three equal persons in the 
Godhead, in one nature, and that Jesus Christ had 
two natures." 

"Also," said Mr. O'Hara, emphatically, "that the 
happiness of the righteous and the misery of the 
impenitent commenced directly at death, and was 
endless." 

"Is this, then, the belief of what are called Calvin- 
istic churches, including Baptists?" asked Israel. 

" Substantially," answered Mr. Ingersoll, " and 
there is Scripture, varied and sufficient in proof of all 
these periods of belief." 

"We do not all interpret Scripture alike," said Mr. 
O'Hara. " I am the pastor of an Evangelical Congrega- 
tional church, so called ; but our creed is so worded, 
that, while we are 'guilty of all' these' doctrines, we 
4 offend in none,' I believe." 

"The offence of the Cross hath not yet ceased 
among those who are faithful to its doctrines," here 
spoke Mr. Ingersoll, very gravely. 

Israel now rose to leave. He thanked both the 
clergymen for their instruction. Mr. O'Hara said, 
" If you make up your mind that you must be im- 



TALK WITH CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMEN. 



95 



mersed, and yet wish for a more liberal scope of 
church membership than the Baptist, you can come 
to me and I will willingly do it." 

"I would not do it," said Mr. Ingersoll, "for I do 
not believe it is necessary." 

"Neither do I," said Mr. O'Hara, laughing, "but 
then, \ conscience not of thine own, but of the other.' 
If we are liberal, we must show our liberality, and not 
be so narrow-souled as the Baptists. I declare it is 
truly laughable," he went on, "to see them so calm, 
in their sublime egotism, as though God made the 
universe on purpose for them, all except hell, which 
is for their enemies. They make one think of the 
Congoes, who say that all the world was made by 
hands of angels, except their own country, which was 
constructed by the Supreme himself, who took great 
pains to make them very black, and was so well 
pleased with the model man, that he smoothed him 
over the face, and therefrom his nose and that of all 
his posterity became flat ! " 

"I do not comprehend your figure," said Mr. In- 
gersoll. 

"Never mind," said Mr. O'Hara, "perhaps I do 
not comprehend it myself." 

On retiring from this conference, Israel had many 
thoughts. Of one thing he was sure — that he could 
not join a church with a Calvinistic creed, until he 
had, at least, examined farther. 



AMONG THE METHODISTS 



CHAPTER I. 

THE METHODIST PRAYER-MEETING. 

Not long after Israel Knight's conversation with 
the Congregational clergyman, he was walking, early- 
one evening, in company with a young man of his 
acquaintance, on one of the less frequented streets of 
the city. Their attention was arrested by strange, 
and, as he thought, unearthly sounds, which seemed to 
issue from a row of lighted windows in the basement 
of a building near them. 

" Persons in distress," said Israel, in a tone of sym- 
pathetic excitement. 

His companion laughed. " Look up and see where 
you are," he said. 

Israel obeyed the suggestion, and discovered that 
the building was a plain-looking church. His eye 
fell again upon the lighted windows, and at the mo- 
ment his ear took in a prolonged sound which seemed 
composed of pain and exultation, all concentrated in 
the word " Glory I " 

Next he heard the word "Hallelujah!" in an 
equally remarkable outburst of vocal power. 

"Who are they? What is it?" now asked Israel 
of his friend. 

" Don't you know? Is it possible that yoa do not 
understand the mysteries of a real Methodist prayer- 

7 97 



98 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

meeting?" returned his friend, taking him by the arm 
and turning down the walk which led to those 
windows. 

"I know nothing of them," said Israel, in a tone 
of awe, for he perceived that "the combat deepened" 
every moment. Sounds as of pounding now accom- 
panied strong cries and hollow groans. "Can we 
obtain admittance?" 

"Certainly; the core of their doctrine is, 'Whoso- 
ever will, may come and partake freely.' They deal 
in a free. salvation." 

They passed into the outer hall, and seeing other 
persons waiting about the door, paused there till the 
favorable moment for entrance. Soon one of the 
persons within broke out into singing, " I'm glad sal- 
vation's free, salvation's free for you and me ; " and all 
who had been on their knees rose to their seats, while 
our friends moved in. A person who sat near arose 
and showed Israel, with his friend, to seats in full view 
of the preacher's desk. 

Israel listened to the many voices in this singing, 
and saw the expression of the faces of some of the 
foremost who sat in conspicuous seats, which seemed 
fully committed to the manner and time of the work, 
and he thought "This is what is meant by ' singing 
lustily.' " As the song went on, some one broke out 
with the exclamation, " Praise God." This was fol- 
lowed by several voices crying similar ejaculations, 
till the singing was borne down and stopped. 

A person at the desk, who seemed to be the leader 
of the meeting, now arose, and standing still a mo- 
ment, looked around in a wild and intense way upon 



THE METHODIST PRAYER-MEETING. 



99 



the audience, then said a few words expressive of his 
hope that they should have a good meeting that night 
— such a meeting as they never had enjoyed before in 
their lives. Souls were to be converted by scores, if 
they only had faith, and were willing to come up to 
the work of the Lord ; but if the drowsy, stupid 
church members were going to hold back, as they so 
often did, — just like great leaden cogs on the wheels 
of the car of salvation, — they might as well give it 
up, first as last, and bid farewell to the miserable 
wretches in that audience who were now swiftly on 
their way to the pit of damnation. He concluded by 
calling upon every soul in that congregation who had 
put himself or herself in the Lord's ranks over against 
those of the devil, and was willing to keep there by 
going to work mightily for the Master, to come for- 
ward on the front seats around the stand, and conse- 
crate themselves anew to the Lord. 

For a moment there was a breathless silence, then 
each began to look at his neighbor, to see who was 
going to move and who was not. 

" Clear the seats ! " now cried the leader, waving 
his arms on either hand; "clear the track for the 
progress of the car of salvation ! We are going to 
have a mighty time to-night — a glorious warming- 
up here. Now while we sing, all who love our Lord 
Jesus, and are willing to stir themselves for him, 
come around here." 

He then began to sing, while a movement com- 
menced throughout the house. 

When the vacated seats were all filled, and others 
stood near who seemed to belong to that company, 



IOO AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

the leader said, " Now, sister Atkins, we will join 
with you in prayer. We want every one here in these 
seats to give himself or herself up anew to the Mas- 
ter. Right here, and just now, expect a blessing. 
Every one kneel ; every one pray now, while the sister 
calls upon the Lord to fit us up for a glorious work 
here to-night. Let every soul in this house, saint or 
sinner, get down on their knees." 

As Israel did not think this injunction to kneel 
included him, he remained in his position. But he 
saw the eyes of this man fixed searchingly upon him 
from above the chair where he knelt with his face to 
the audience. 

No sooner had the sister began to pray, than voices 
from every direction broke out with loud ejaculations, 
so that it was difficult to catch only broken sentences 
of her petition. These were accompanied by other 
loud noises made by their hands. The strong cries 
of " Just now, Lord ! " " O, come right here, 
Jesus ! " " Yes, yes, that's what we want." "Amen ! " 
" Come Lord, come right down now and work like 
thyself!" "Amen!" "Hallelujah!" "Glory!" 
" Glory to God ! " bore down the minor key of the 
woman's voice, so that it seemed it would have been 
equally well if she had but commenced praying, and 
ended when these cries ceased. 

No sooner had the weaker voice died out, than there 
was a momentary lull, succeeded by a roar like the 
outbreak of waters at the removal of their strongholds. 

A stentorian brother now led the mighty current 
like the afflicted Job when he cried, "Am I a sea, 
or a whale * * * ? " 



THE METHODIST PRAYER-MEETING. IOI 

Israel knew not whether to be amused or disgusted. 
He caught the eye of his companion, who smiled. 
The contagious glance caused him to turn away to 
gather new self-control. 

The next time he looked towards the leader, he saw 
his searching eye levelled like an arrow of reproof 
upon him. In confusion he dropped his head upon 
the bench before him. 

These things continued for a short time, when all 
were bidden to rise and sing. 

The singing concluded, the leader said, u Now 
all who have got a blessing and are willing to work 
for the Master to-night, rise right up and show your 
colors for the Lord." Most of the persons on the 
front seats arose, but a few remaining in their posi- 
tions, he seemed possessed with a spirit of rebuke, 
and said, "O ye stupid Christians! who have a 
name to live, while you are just dead in trespasses and 
sins, — what, think you, is to be your portion? You 
are all like woodchucks in your holes. Nothing will 
ever bark you out but the dog of persecution. You 
need to be called to straits from the enemy, like the 
Christians of old, in order to be willing to run and 
not be weary, to walk and not faint. Here are souls 
around us to-night going right on to hell, and you 
a-setting there so stupid and careless ! I see the 
precious souls of young men here, who are now 
laughing at us. [Here he gave a terrible look at 
Israel.] And there are young women, too, right on 
the flowery borders of perdition. Yes, brethren and 
sisters, there is work here for us to do to-night. 
How can you keep your seats one precious moment 



102 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

of time, while the arch adversary is busy in our very 
midst ! " 

"Now," said he, " clear these seats again; we are 
going to have all up here who desire to save their 
souls and want to be prayed into the kingdom to-night. 
Brethren and sisters, go forth among the congregation 
and compel them to come in and sup with us at the 
marriage-supper of the Lamb." 

He then struck up another tune, while certain ones 
moved among the crowd, and invited them to go 
forward for prayers. 

The leader looked again at Israel and his compan- 
ion, who did not seem inclined to move. " Young 
men there, near that middle pillar," he cried at length, 
while the singing went on, " Come up here to the 
altar and get religion to-night. You'll never have a 
better time than this." 

Several now turned and looked at them with an 
expression of commiseration for their hardness of 
heart. 

"What shall we do?" asked Israel's companion of 
him, in a low voice. u If we stay out here, they will 
set us down for burglars or escaped convicts. We 
shall be branded in the face of all the people, and our 
characters will be gone forever. Let us escape at the 
door before it grows worse." 

" No," said Israel. " Let us go forward. It will 
not hurt us to be prayed for." 

" But are you sincere?" asked his friend. 

" I am," answered Israel." " It has just occurred 
to me that the fault may be in me, and not in them." 

They went forward, while the leader cried, 



THE METHODIST PRAYER-MEETING. 



IO3 



" Hallelujah, two more have decided to go with us in 
the glorious way, to-night." 

Soon after, the leader knelt, calling upon every soul 
of them to do likewise, and began to pray for the 
spirit to come down. 

A portion of the prayer was directed in the behalf 
of those two stranger young men in their midst, 
especially that one whose proud spirit had refused to 
kneel when he first came in among them. Israel knew 
that all those people were praying for him. He was 
not angry. No ; the feeling of gratitude began grad- 
ually to rise within his heart. 

" These good people are in earnest for the salvation 
of my soul," he said to himself; " although I have 
believed I was a Christian before, I feel now that I 
am not like these. Perhaps I have been deceived." 

" Search him, strip him, O Lord ! " spoke the 
leader ; " strip him naked of all his filthy rags of self- 
righteousness and put on him a clean white robe." 

At this juncture, a clear, sweet voice commenced to 
sing something about " palms of victory " and "white 
robes," "clean robes," and the prayers ceased, though 
all remained on their knees. 

Tears filled Israel's eyes. " Surely," thought he, 
" they are unselfish to take so much heed for an 
entire stranger. This must be, truly, an apostolical 
faith and practice as new to me as it is beautiful." 

Now some one bent over him and whispered, "Friend, 
do you feel better? Have you got religion? " 

" I don't know," said Israel, " I thought I had 
sometime ago ; but I have not been enough in earnest, 
I fear." 



104 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

" He wishes to feel more the terrible weight of 
his salvation," said the. leader aloud, and renewed 
his strong supplication to that effect, until another 
voice cried out, " I know it is all right with him now. 
Let us praise God. He has got the victory. Shout, 
brother ! " 

The audience became seated, and after the singing 
of another verse, those who felt that they had obtained 
salvation were requested to rise. Several stood, but 
Israel was not among them. 

" How is this?" asked the leader, looking at Israel, 
" can you not give God the glory for your salvation? 
Speak ! speak a word for the Master, and tell us what 
he has done for your soul. If you hold your peace, 
the spirit may leave you, and you may be silent in the 
cause forever." 

Israel now arose, and looking down very modestly, 
said that he felt new convictions of his duty to be a 
more earnest Christian, such as he never had before. 
He asked their prayers that the will of the Lord 
might be made plain to him. 

His friend looked on him in astonishment, but 
was silent himself. Many responded fervently 
" Amen," and " We will pray for you, brother." 

Nearly all those who had newly risen " gave in 
their testimony," as it was called, what the Lord had 
done for them — these testimonies being often inter- 
spersed with singing. 

It may be thought unaccountable that Israel had so 
soon fallen in with a tide which, at first, he was dis- 
posed to resist or undervalue. The contradiction is 
only apparent. A young man with a naturally 



THE METHODIST PRAYER-MEETING. IO5 

decided religious temperament, possessed with a con- 
viction that somewhere on the earth the divine presence 
dwelt with a peculiar people, whose local habitation 
could be named, " The Lord is here ; " such a person, 
comparatively alone in the world as to kindred and 
near friends, and disposed to conscientiously disci- 
pline himself in a religious way, would easily become 
affected with the new and strange interest manifested 
towards him by this fervid, and apparently friendly and 
humble people. Hitherto, it had not been in his expe- 
rience to hear the voice of prayer uttered by another in 
his individual behalf. With the Baptists, he had more 
than once knelt at their family altar, and no word had 
gone up for the guest, orphaned and desolate on the 
threshold of manhood, although they had prayed most 
kindly for their own beloved ones. The Congrega- 
tionalists had vouchsafed no such friendly regard ^s 
this. Hungering and thirsting after a personal right- 
eousness, he began to have an emotion of partial satis- 
faction in this new demonstration of strangers towards 
himself. Although at first he had felt that injustice 
was done him, yet it was far better for them to think 
of him, even though the thought was short of what he 
wished, than not to think of him at all. 

"Brother Simond," spoke the leader, when the 
testimonies from the anxious seat were concluded, "I 
want you to pray now, and particularly remember 
our strange brother," looking at Israel, •" who so sin- 
cerely desires to understand his duty. The Lord has 
surely sent him among us for his profit to-night. Let 
us all invoke a special blessing upon him, that he may 
leave this place, feeling as he never did before. After 



Io6 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

that, let other of the brethren and sisters pray for all 
the rest on these seats, that they may be confirmed and 
strengthened in the faith. Let us all now expect a 
present blessing." 

Brother Simond was unlike some others who 
had prayed there that night. To the fervor of his 
religion was added a loving charity, otherwise called 
by his people " a sweet spirit," which moved upon 
the hearts of those of a certain temperament with a 
remarkable power. He was often called a Christian 
of the St. John stamp. He leaned much upon the 
Saviour's bosom, and so caught His heavenly spirit. 
Low'and reverent were his tones, unless the tide of 
his feeling ran uncommonly strong and high, when he 
grew not loud, but deep and powerful, like a beau- 
tiful and full-flowing river of Faith hastening towards 
tbe sea of Infinite Compassion. 

He it was who now prayed for Israel, and touched 
his heart by the might of his spirit as never man 
had done before. Words of Holy Writ, clothed with 
the seemingly unlimited power of his friendly soul, 
were on his lips as if they belonged there. The sword 
of the spirit accompanied them. They cut Israel to 
the heart. They transfused his nature into contrition 
and love. He wept. 

Before the exercises of that evening had closed, 
Israel arose unbidden, and asked leave to speak to the 
people present. 

" Speak, brother, and the Lord fill your heart with 
His Spirit," responded the leader. 

u I came in hither," said Israel, "without knowing 
for what intent the Lord led me. I came with gain- 



THE METHODIST PRAYER-MEETING. 107 

saying, and it seemed to me that your words and ways 
were strangely erroneous. I confess that I had no 
part nor lot with you. But God has moved me to 
feel very differently." 

"In answer to the prayer of faith," ejaculated the 
leader ; "but go on, dear brother." 

" I think of a truth that the Spirit of the Lord is 
here," he continued. 

" Amen ! Glory to God ! " cried voices on all sides, 
while the tears fell from many eyes. 

"And, although I have had a hope of a Christian 
before, I never realized my state as here, around this 
altar, to-night. I came in to wonder, I fear to despise ; 
but what do I not owe to the grace of God, who 
opened my eyes, softened my heart, and filled it with 
love for you all." 

"Bless the Lord ! Bless God ! " cried voices. 

"For a long time I have sought for the people 
whose God was truly the Lord, for the church from 
among the varied churches of the land, of which it 
might well be said, as of the city described in Ezekiel, 
whose name was i The Lord is there? I believe 
that I now have glimpses of this holy place with the 
holiest of names. My soul is filled with rejoicing that 
it sees, though in the dim distance, the spires and 
turrets of its home. — its Christian home ! 

" My friends ! I have no earthly home which is 
blessed, centred, and filled with the presence of kindred 
according to the flesh-. My parents both died before 
I well remember. I have been well cared for, but it 
has been by strangers and hirelings ; by good friends, 
it is true, but not by the blessed ones of home ! " 



IOS AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

" The Lord bless the dear young brother," was now 
heard in strong tones of tenderness. 

" It seems to me, as I have said," Israel went on, 
amid tears, "that I am nearing the home of my soul, 
among true Christian brethren who love the souls of 
others." 

No sooner had he concluded, than they commenced 
and sang the following beautiful words : — - 

"In the Christian's home in glory 
There remains a land of rest; 
There my Saviour's gone before me, 
To fulfil my soul's request. 

Chorus : 

"There is rest for the weary, 
There is rest for the weary, 
On the other side of Jordan, 
In the sweet fields of Eden. 
There is rest for the weary, 
There is rest for you — 
Where the tree of life is blooming, 
There is rest for you. 

"He is fitting up my mansion 
Which eternally shall stand : 
For my stay shall not be transient 
In that holy, happy land. 

Chorus: "There is rest for the weary, etc. 

" Sing, O sing, ye heirs of glory ; 
Shout your triumph as you go; 
Zion's gates will open for you, 

You shall find an entrance through. 

Chorus: "There is rest for the weary," etc. 



THE METHODIST PRAYER-MEETING. I09 

Sung, as were these words, by voices which welled 
up from hearts overflowing with emotion, Israel 
thought he had a foretaste of heaven. 

No sooner was the meeting closed, than numbers 
of the "brethren" gathered around Israel to offer him 
their hands, with hearty words of welcome. 

The leader took his address, and promised to call 
on him at an early opportunity. 

"Things have taken a different turn to-night from 
what I expected," said Israel's companion, on the way 
to their boarding-place. 

"Yes," he replied, "it is all very providential." 



IIO AMONG THE METHODISTS. 



CHAPTER II. 

CYPRIAN CUTTING'S CALL. 

The next morning, before Israel had breakfasted, 
there was a knock on his door, and the servant told 
him that a gentleman waited to see him. 

"Where is his card?" asked Israel in some sur- 
prise at such an unwonted summons. 

" O ! he told me he did not carry cards to play 
with, when I asked him, sir ; but he said, ' Tell him I 
have a message from the Lord of Hosts, and it must 
be delivered without any delay.' " 

Israel was about to offer some excuse at this singu- 
lar request, when a footstep was heard upon the 
stair. He turned and saw the face of the leader of 
last night's meeting. 

" Halloo there ! " said the man ; " don't you know 
your own brother in the Lord ? I am a servant of the 
Almighty ; my name is Cyprian Cutting ; rightly 
named, too, for my business is to cut the hearts of 
sinners with the sword of Gideon, and I cut church 
members as well, if they lie asleep by the king's 
highway like snakes a-sunning." 

" It seems to me that you are a very strange man 
for a minister," said Israel, who now showed him 
into his parlor, and opened a blind to admit the morn- 
ing light. At this proceeding, the visitor began to 



CYPRIAN CUTTINGS CALL. Ill 

sing in a low, sweet voice, " The morning light is 
breaking," stopping suddenly at the end of the first verse, 
and saying " I am not a minister yet, brother, though 
I am a making all the time, these glorious days. I 
shall soon stand on the heights of Zion, and proclaim 
a free salvation, in louder tones even than I now do.'* 

" I supposed you were, from the fact of your posi- 
tion last evening," said Israel. 

"I only led the meeting in the absence of our 
preacher. Religion is in a very low state in our 
church now." 

" I thought quite the contrary," said Israel ; "it 
seemed to me there was a remarkable fervor prevail- 
ing there." 

a O ! you ought to have seen us last winter," said 
Cutting, smiling with an ecstatic joy, " when every 
single night of the week, scores fell down, cut to the 
heart ; and on Sunday nights we calculated we had 
done nothing, unless we could count seventy or eighty 
slain around our altar. O dear ! our church members," 
he sighed, "are such stupid, blind guides ! fools of 
heart and slow to believe ! I have to speak to them 
just as the Spirit gives me utterance, every once in a 
little while." 

"Do they receive it peaceably?" asked Israel. 
"Sometimes ; but when I pour it on them the hottest 
from the fiery furnace of God's love, they squirm, I 
tell you ; and they would turn Brother Cutting out of 
the church if they could — that's a fact. But they can't 
fight against the Lord to any good purpose." 

"Then you think the Lord speaks through you," 
continued Israel. 



112 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

" So long as I do His will to the letter, brother, I 
have not a doubt of it, and that's the reason I came 
here so early this morning ; it's the early bird that 
catches the worm, you know. I am after your soul, 
brother, and I have come to tell you that if you don't 
come right out and own your Master with us — stand 
up like a good soldier of the cross and do your duty, 
you will soon fall into Satan's ranks and be eternally 
lost." 

He fixed his eyes upon those of Israel with a look 
like a maniac. Yet he was pleasant and genial as the 
summer morn. 

u Let us pray," next spoke Cutting, while he drop- 
ped suddenly upon his knees. 

A listener would have inferred that he had full faith 
to the measure of his " soul's request," that u the 
heavens would bow and come down." To character- 
ize this prayer by the word earnestness, is as scant of 
the fact as " light " falls short of a description of the 
sun. It was a practical obedience to the words of the 
Lord found in Isaiah xli : 21. Produce your cause : 
bring forth your strong reasons. 

The breakfast bell terminated this exercise, but not 
the interview, for Cutting accepted the invitation to 
accompany Israel to breakfast, adding that he had not 
eaten a " full meal " for four days. It soon transpired 
that Cutting was boarding himself, and in all ways 
trying to eke out enough to provide the means for an 
education. 

" It must be very hard for you," said Israel. 

" Not at all, dear brother, since my Master looks out 
that I have all I really need. The glorious service 



CYPRIAN CUTTING'S CALL. 



"3 



pays, I assure you." And he smiled as though contem- 
plating a broker's board, on which he had a right to 
thousands of gold. 

In answer to the request of the landlady that he 
should ask the blessing, he prayed at least five min- 
utes, in which he took occasion to remember every 
individual around the table, each with an original 
request, not forgetting to offer a petition that the 
colored handmaids who wait upon us " may have their 
souls washed and made white in the cleansing blood 
of the Lamb." Also, he said in conclusion, " If any 
of these persons, O Lord, fail of securing admission 
to Thy kingdom, it will not be the fault of Thy ser- 
vant who warned them on Tuesday morning, August 
seventeenth, in the year of our Lord, (here he gave 
the year,) Amen." 

The result of this unprecedented faithfulness to a 
conviction of duty appeared in a few days, in the 
form of a new coat, ordered by subscription of those 
persons there present, for "Mr. Cyprian Cutting — a 
man among a thousand, who dares to say what he 
thinks." 



114 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 



CHAPTER III 



METHODIST DOCTRINE. 



Israel soon became so much interested in what he 
heard and saw among these Methodists, that he took 
advice of the minister of this persuasion, whose ser- 
vices he now chiefly attended, as to what books he 
should read in order to become acquainted more thor- 
oughly with their doctrinal belief. He was told that 
no stress was laid upon the belief of the laity for 
membership, provided they loved our Lord Jesus 
Christ in sincerity, and were striving to live a good 
life ; but that the ministry were strictly required to 
accept their creed in the fifty-three discourses of John 
Wesley, and his Notes on the New Testament, all of 
which is of the " Arminian type." 

He was curious to know how the belief of the 
Arminians could read in distinction from those " Five 
Points " of Calvinism which he had received with so 
much reservation of confidence. 

He found it to read thus : — 

I. That God, from eternity, determined to bestow 
salvation on those who, he foresaw, would persevere 
unto the end, and to inflict everlasting punishment 
on those who should continue in their unbelief, and 
resist his divine succors ; so that election and reproba- 
tion are conditional. 



METHODIST DOCTRINE. 



IJ 5 



II. That Jesus Christ, by his sufferings and death, 
made an atonement for the sins of all mankind, and of 
every individual in particular ; that, however, none but 
those who believe in him, can be partakers of his benefits. 

III. That mankind are not totally depraved, and 
that depravity does not come upon them by virtue of 
Adam's being their federal head. 

IV. That the grace of God, which converts men, 
is not irresistible. 

V. That those who are united to Christ by faith 
may fall from a state of grace, and finally perish. 

Upon some of these views he found that those of 
Wesley appeared to join issue. For instance, in Wes- 
ley's own words, he read as follows : — 

u Question. In what sense is Adam's sin imputed 
to all mankind? 

"Answer. In Adam all died, i. e., i. Our bodies 
then became mortal. 2. Our souls died, i. e. were 
disunited from God. And hence, 3. We are all born 
with a sinful, devilish nature ; by reason whereof, 
4. We are children of wrath, liable to death eternal. 
(Rom. 5 : 18; Eph. 11 : 3.) 

"«§. In what sense is the righteousness of Christ 
imputed to all mankind, or to believers? 

U A. We do not find it expressly affirmed in 
Scripture that God imputes the righteousness of Christ 
to any, although we do find that faith is imputed for 
righteousness. That text, ' As by one man's disobe- 
dience all men were made sinners, so by the obedience 
of one all were made righteous,' we conceive, means 
by the merits of Christ all men are cleared from the 
guilt of Adam's actual sin." 



Il6 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

In addition to what is contained in the creed of 
Arminius, he found these teachings, also, of Wesley : — 

"J^. What is implied in being & perfect Christian ? 

"A. The loving the Lord our God with all our 
heart, and with all our mind, and soul, and strength. 

" j^. Does this imply that all inward sin is taken 
away? 

u ^4. Without doubt ; or how could we be said to 
be saved from all our uncleanness?" . (Ezek. 36 : 29.) 

Of faith, he found the Wesleyan idea to be, " not 
only a divine evidence or conviction that God was in 
Christ reconciling the world unto himself, but a sure 
trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, that 
he loved me, and gave himself for me. And the 
moment a penitent sinner believes this, God pardons 
and absolves him ; and as soon as his pardon or justi- 
fication is witnessed to him by the Holy Ghost, he is 
saved." 

A standard writer of this connection. Israel found, 
adds to the foregoing : — 

"That comfortable persuasion of God's favor, re- 
sulting from the witness of the Holy Spirit, for which 
the Methodists contend, they distinguish from an 
assurance of final salvation. It is simply a persua- 
sion of present pardon and acceptance. Without 
this, say they, we cannot love God, and therefore can- 
not yield those fruits of righteousness which indicate a 
state of grace and safety. The induction thus sup- 
poses the antecedent ' witness,' as truly as lunar beams 
give evidence of the power and brightness of the sun. 
Where the attesting spirit dwells, He produces the 
graces which are enumerated in Holy Scripture ; and 



METHODIST DOCTRINE. Il7 

thus arises what has been called [perhaps not very 
accurately], a 'second witness', to ratify and confirm 
to us the first. 

"Comparing many texts of Holy Scripture which 
are addressed to those who are ' in Christ,' — and of 
which the burden is, to urge each to ' cleanse' them- 
selves 'from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, 
perfecting holiness in the fear of God,' — the Metho- 
dists infer that in this life the Christian man may be 
' sanctified wholly ; ' and that his ' whole spirit and 
soul and body ' may ' be preserved blameless unto the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.'" 

"Beautiful doctrine!" exclaimed Israel, as he read 
the foregoing substance of the Methodist belief * "I 
will search for the evidences of its truth, and if found, 
it shall be the creed of my heart and the practice of 
my life ! " 

He then spent the greater part of weeks and months 
in exploring the best works of the standard writers of 
Methodism, occasionally availing himself of conversa- 
tions with such of the most learned and pious persons 
of that persuasion as he could meet. Especially was 
his soul moved and confirmed in this "way of salva- 
tion," when he read such books of devout and faithful 
zeal as the lives of the Wesleys, of Fletcher and his 
not less saintly wife, of Carvosso, Mrs. Hester Ann 
Rogers, and others of that procession of true followers 
of the apostolical faith and practice, who went about 
doing good everywhere as they had opportunity, 
asking not, nor expecting reward in this life. 

All this was not without its effect upon his own 
purposes of life. He had caught the holy fire, and 



Il8 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

his heart burned within him to engage himself in this 
glorious work of winning perishing souls to Christ, 
whom he now loved as never before. It seemed to 
him that all other Christian denominations were 
asleep, or half stultified with their own errors, com- 
pared to this people, who ran joyfully the new and 
living way, which had been consecrated by the foot- 
steps of the Divine One. 

Especially did the humility, the self-sacrifice, and 
the strict obedience to the commands of the New 
Testament inculcated in these and kindred Methodist 
books, fill his soul with profound admiration. The 
previous experiences of his life in his academical and 
collegiate career had been in some of the most em- 
inent arenas of the land. He thought he had seen 
much of pride and vain show. He believed he had 
suffered somewhat for conscience's sake. Thrice 
welcome were these teachings, so pure, so humble, so 
Christ-like ! Thrice welcome the people whose God 
was the Lord, and not the ungodliness of the world ! 



THE FOLD OF FLOCKS. 



II 9 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE FOLD OF FLOCKS. 



About this time, Israel attended a camp-meeting. 

It was late on an afternoon of the latter part of the 
week of this " feast of Tabernacles," that he took the 
opportunity to visit the camp ground.' As he left 
the railroad station and walked up the avenue which 
led to the place, he met uncounted crowds moving 
slowly on the way to return. They were laughing, 
chatting, — these gaily-dressed and worldly looking 
people, as though they had been to a picnic or a 
horse race, and were speculating upon the merits of 
the different objects of interest. A group of young 
people of about his own age met one young lady who 
walked in the inward-bound mass of which Israel 
was one, and accosted her in loud tones with 
" Hullo ! say ! Have you come here to get religion 
to-night? " 

The other made no direct answer, but said in an 
equally buoyant tone, " I suppose you are all right 
now, after being to camp-meeting so long ! " 

u O yes, of course we arc! All right!" And the 
moving crowd swept them on. 

These things grated harshly upon the ear of Israel, 
and he repented at this moment that he had come ; 
but the sounds of the sweet singers in the clear, open 



120 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

air beneath the trees of the forest, newly kindled his 
interest. He heard the words : — 

" O for a heart to praise my God, 
A heart from sin set free ; 
A heart that always feels thy blood, 
So freely spilt for me. 

" A heart in every thought renewed, 
And full of love divine ; 
Perfect, and right, and pure, and good, 
A copy, Lord, of thine." 

Then he came in full view of the scene. He paused a 
moment to study what he saw. 

It had rained heavily during the previous night, so 
that all the abundant foliage of the giant trees of the 
old wood, with the gravel paths which led about 
the grounds, anu die white canvas roofs, had been 
washed, refreshed, and endued as with a smile from 
the heavens. A gradually rising hill, which formed 
a kind of natural amphitheatre, was bounded to the 
extent of a semicircle by the different tents, on each 
of which was the name of the place of the society 
which composed its occupants. These tents were 
very similar in construction and furnishing, except 
some smaller ones in the rear of the semicircle, which 
had been put up by private individuals for the use of one 
family or small sets of persons. Each tent was thickly 
carpeted with straw ; seats extended around the walls, 
and articles of various kinds, like chests and trunks, 
were packed away in remote corners. To the rear of 
each was a cooking-stove, and benches which served 
for tables and other domestic uses. These composed 



THE FOLD OF FLOCKS. 121 

the kitchens and family rooms of the establishments. 
The lower base of this amphitheatre was occupied by 
a roofed house, before which was a stand for the 
preachers, and from which extended, up to within a 
short walk from the tents, rows of substantial seats 
capable of accommodating many hundreds of persons. 

Although the sermon for that afternoon was over, 
they were now partially filled by people who were 
engaged in a meeting- of a more social nature. Hence 
the singing which he heard on his approach. 

Aged men and women, middle-aged persons, chil- 
dren, and even babes, were here to be seen or heard. 
Hardly a color or a people was not represented in 
some form. 

The words of the divine prophecy — " And Sharon 
shall be a fold of flocks," came to the memory of 
Israel, as he stood before the door of the first tent he 
reached and gazed about him. 

Not long did he linger there, for he was attracted 
by the strong musical tones of a well-known voice in 
the most violent exhortation to that audience on the 
seats. It came from among the people and not from 
the preachers' stand ; yet no minister full of years and 
weighty with the sheaves of precious souls could 
have spoken with greater authority and earnestness. 

Israel moved forward, exchanged a nod with the 
sheriff in attendance, and took his place among the 
hearers of that powerful, hortatory address. 

" O Cyprian ! " he said to himself, " are you never 
weary in your Master's work? Somewhere about 
you must be concealed the patent of indefatigable 
perseverance. " All else looked worn with the long 



122 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

day's excitement, and waiting to be renewed by " the 
cup which cheers but not inebriates," while he was, 
to appearance, as fresh and heart-full as though just 
risen from a plunge into the river of life. 

His attention soon wandered to the group of faces 
upon the preachers' stand. Only two or three of as 
many score were known to him. He read them as he 
would a page in Hebrew, from right to left, directly 
the reverse of the vernacular. 

Not more than one in fifteen had received a college 
diploma, and all but two or three of these were 
bestowed by a university of medium rank. Very few, 
and these among the younger portion, had studied in 
a theological seminary. Half of them referred only 
to an academy of their denomination, which they 
proudly called Eversham. 

All except two, or at the most four of these preach- 
ers, had the look which speaks of hidden power to 
survive all kinds of transformation. This was the 
result of the cultivation of their peculiar system of 
itineracy. They were used to being changed about 
into shapes in which they would not have recognized 
themselves, had it not been for their surnames, occa- 
sionally pronounced in strong tones by their bishops, 
at the beck of the presiding elders. 

Spallanzani has proved that the snail has the power 
of reproducing a new head when decapitated ; but it 
should be noticed that the brain of the snail does not 
reside in its head. 

Hopeful, cheerful, satisfied with their sect, looked 
they all ; and how could it be otherwise when Metho- 
dism was progressing in its victorious march over this 



THE FOLD OF FLOCKS. 1 23 

continent, at the rate of five hundred souls a minute, 
or better yet, of five hundred thousand dollars an 
hour of lunar time ! 

Not that Israel Knight thought this, as he gazed at 
that formidable array of preachers. Far from it. He 
thought of them only as the most faithful, the most 
humble, apostolical servants of the true church of 
Christ ; and, as he thought, he sighed that he could 
not be there, one in their midst. 

" I understand that the elders here have asked God 
to give us at least one hundred conversions for the 
harvest of this camp-meeting, and how are they going 
to get them all if they do not bestir themselves more 
than they have ? " cried Cyprian Cutting. 

(He had before said, in Israel's hearing, that he had 
laid out to be the means of converting fifty thousand 
souls before he left this world). 

In a similar strain he went on till the bell rung 
announcing the time to close. 

After supper, and before the time for the evening 
sermon, Israel was in one of the tents, whither he had 
been invited by some friends of slight acquaintance 
who belonged to the society which occupied it. 

A class meeting was in progress there. After sing- 
ing and prayer, a young minister spoke a few words 
explanatory of his own feelings at that particular time, 
and invited all present to do likewise. The purport 
of what he said was that religion never had appeared 
better to him than it did at that moment. He loved 
the work in which he was engaged ; he loved all 
his brethren and sisters, and hoped he should meet 
them all at last in heaven. This was good ; but as 



124 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

nearly every one present, in regular succession, gave 
in a not very dissimilar testimony, Israel began to 
think that a change, even for the worse, would be 
a relief. He was about to dismiss this thought as 
a temptation, when he was asked to speak. The 
nature of his own private feelings seemed to him too 
sacred to parade there before all that tent's company. 
He was not accustomed to such an exhibition of 
himself, and respectfully asked to be excused. 

" Speak, brother," said a friend who sat next him, 
" speak a word for the Master." He was silent, and 
looked down heavily upon the straw. Forty-six eyes 
were fastened on him, and for that moment, Napoleon 
at St. Helena did not feel more painfully than he did. 

" Tell us, young friend," spoke the minister, "just 
how you feel. Christ is a present Saviour, and he gives 
a full and free salvation just now, if we ask it. Are 
you willing to be saved from all your sins? " 

Still he answered nothing. If he told them "just 
how " he felt then, he would have said that their ex- 
ercise had begun to seem tiresome to him. To tell 
them of his present views and purposes, he did not 
deem meet for the time or place. His present sins 
he reserved for his closet, and not for any human con- 
fessional, private or public. 

He was then addressed as though he were not one 
of them, or in other words, not a Christian. They 
hoped he would soon be made willing to testify for 
the Master. 

This was all in keeping with Methodist estates, or 
orders of spiritual government. With these estates, 
the article of speech has prime value. Without it, 



THE FOLD OF FLOCKS. 1 25 

religious character is a paradox, something to be 
doubted, and to be disciplined. A multitude of sins 
are covered by Methodist " testimony." 

Israel being new to this economy, he did not com- 
prehend it. He began to consider from left to right, — 
no longer in Hebrew style, but in that of Saxon com- 
mon sense. He asked himself if these people were 
right in their judgments, based on premises so slight 
and insufficient? If they condemned upon such 
grounds, they might also " save " in like manner. It 
seemed to him that they put themselves in the place of 
Christ, hardly less than did the "Vicegerent of Rome." 

The singing of one of the beautiful hymns, which 
these people sing in an almost unequalled style, for the 
time restored his equanimity, and with it came his 
confidence, though its wings were no longer plumed. 

The evening sermon was upon holiness. Many 
passages of Scripture were ingeniously quoted to 
prove the doctrine. The theory was adapted to the 
comfort of all who were hungering and thirsting after 
righteousness. Israel listened with reverent attention. 
Some of it was in this wise : — 

* " Christian Perfection or Holiness is that state 
of grace which excludes all sin from the heart. 
' Blessed are the pure in heart.' ' Create in me a 
clean heart, O God ! ' l The blood of Jesus Christ, 
his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.' ' Being made 
free from sin, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and 
the end everlasting life.' 

* These words on Christian Perfection are taken from a 
-work entitled "Perfect Love." 



126 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

" The difference between regeneration and sanctifi- 
cation is — The man who is merely regenerated is 
but partially saved from sin, while the. sanctified is 
wholly saved. The regenerated soul does not commit 
sin, though he is conscious of remaining inbred sin. 
The sanctified soul neither commits sin nor feels any 
consciousness of remaining inbred sin. In justifica- 
tion, the strong man is bound; in sanctification, he is 
cast out. 

" The graces of the spirit exist in the entirely sanc- 
tified without alloy. The graces in the sanctified are 
perfect in kind, but limited in degree. Regeneration 
affords victory over sin subdued ; sanctification gives 
victory over sin exterminated and cast out, so that all 
the graces of the spirit exist perfect in kind — that is, 
to the exclusion of their opposites. 

" Sanctification does not add any new virtues to the 
soul. It simply cleanses the soul from all in-dwelling 
sin, so as to allow the graces implanted in the soul at 
regeneration to exist without alloy, or without their 
opposites in the heart. 

" The cause of so much prejudice and opposition to 
the doctrine of holiness among professors of religion 
is that the doctrine has been misunderstood. It has 
generally been taken to mean more than was intended, 
and more than was taught by the standards of the 
Church. 

u We teach absolute perfection in none but God. 
The brightest, the highest, the sweetest, and the most 
lovely angel in paradise is not absolutely perfect. 
In this sense, ' there is none good but one, that is 
God.' 



THE FOLD OF FLOCKS. \2*] 

"We teach no a?igelic perfection in man while he 
is out of heaven. In this world we must be contented 
with Christian perfection, which, according to Mr. 
Wesley, is ' pure love reigning alone in the heart and 
life.' 

" The sanctified soul trusts more perfectly and con- 
stantly in the atonement than any other. He, more 
than any other man, feels 

' Every moment, Lord, I need 
The merit of thy death.' 

" Christian Perfection does not exclude the possi- 
bility of growing in grace. The pure in heart grow 
faster than any others. There is no standing still in 
religion or sin. We are either progressing or re- 
ceding. If we are neglecting present duty, we are 
backsliding, however great our attainments may have 
been. 

" Christian Perfection does not exclude a liability 
to temptation. Our holy Saviour was tempted. So 
long as we are in an unholy world, we may expect to 
be tempted. It is no sin to be tempted, provided 
proper caution has been used to avoid the occasions 
of temptation. 

" Christian Perfection does not exclude the possi- 
bility of falling away ; but it renders it much less 
probable. We must wait for absolute security until 
we arrive at heaven. Hence, we are to ' work out our 
salvation with fear and trembling.' 

"No temptation or evil suggestion to the mind be- 
comes sin till it is tolerated. Sin consists in yielding 
to temptation. So long as the soul maintains its 



128 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

integrity, so that temptation finds no sympathy within, 
no sin is committed, and the soul remains unharmed, 
no matter how protracted or severe the fiery trial may 
prove. 

"Christian Perfection does not make any one per- 
fect in knowledge. Of those sanctified wholly, it may 
be emphatically said, they ' walk in the light, as he 
is in the light.' The perfect in love have a more clear 
apprehension of God, of His presence, and of spiritual 
things," (other things being equal), than any other. 

" Christian Perfection does not exclude the infirm- 
ities of human nature, — such as slowness of under- 
standing, errors of judgment, mistakes in practice, 
erratic imaginations, a treacherous memory, etc. 

"Holiness maybe perfect, and yet be progressive. 
It is complete in the sanctified soul in ki?zd, but limited 
in degree. Perfection in quality does not exclude 
increase in quantity. The capacities of the soul are 
progressive, and holiness should increase in a measure 
corresponding to its increasing capacity. Faith, love, 
humility, and patience may be perfect in kind, and 
yet increase in volume and power — in measure." 

At the close of this sermon, another preacher arose, 
and in a few words gave his testimony of the posses- 
sion of the " Second Blessing," and urging all those 
present who had this witness, to profess it — laying 
much stress upon the idea that the blessing of entire 
sanctification could not be retained without confessing 
its possession on all suitable occasions. He also cited 
standard authorities in proof of this. 

Israel thought of these words found in Romans 
14: 22 : "Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before 



THE FOLD OF FLOCKS. 120, 

God," and wondered what disposition this man would 
make of them. 

One after another, both men and women, young 
men and young girls, rose before all that numerous 
audience, and said like this : — 

" By faith in the atoning blood of my Saviour, I am 
saved from all sin, and live now with the Spirit wit- 
nessing to my spirit that I am clean ." 

Or, in these words : "At [a given time] I reckoned 
myself to be dead unto sin but alive unto God through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Praise to the grace which 
saves." 

Israel said to himself: "This may all be true, but 
how can I reconcile it with the scriptural command, 
"in lowliness of mind let each esteem the other better 
than themselves. Look not every man on his own 
things, but every man also on the things of others." 
Christ's own account of the Pharisee and the Pub- 
lican also presented itself at that time. • 

After this kind of testimony, a short exhortation 
was given to all present who had the blessing of justi- 
fication, to seek "just now" the blessing of sanctifica- 
tion. The seats around the altar were cleared while 
this verse was sung : — 

"Break oft" the yoke of inbred sin, 
And fully set my spirit free; 
I cannot rest till pure within — 
Till I am wholly lost in thee." 

Several short, earnest prayers to the present object 
were now offered, a few more words from the leader 
of the occasion spoken, and then it was urged that all 

9 



130 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

who had now obtained the second blessing should rise, 
and in the fewest words, profess it. 

A young girl was one of the first to testify that she 
was now saved from all sin. Others, in quick succes- 
sion, followed, till some twenty persons had professed 
to the new possession. 

These words, with other similar ones, were sung in 
a remarkably solemn manner : — 

" The world is overcome by the blood of the Lamb ! 
My sins are washed away in the blood of the Lamb ! 
The devil 's overcome by the blood of the Lamb ! 
I've lost the fear of death through the blood of the Lamb ! 
The martyrs overcame by the blood of the Lamb ! 
I hope to gain the skies by the blood of the Lamb ! " 

"If it is really so," reflected Israel, "that these 
persons have now overcome the world, the flesh and 
the devil, and have arrived at that heavenly state which 
was enjoyed by the martyrs and saints of all ages in 
their hours of death, this must be called the very gate 
of heaven." 

These scenes deeply impressed him. Afterwards, 
when he had entered the tent whither Cyprian Cutting 
invited him to tarry for that night, he could not but 
reflect earnestly upon this, to him, new doctrine. 
But the scenes which soon transpired around him, 
the night-worship — the getting ready to lie down 
upon the straw under a blanket, and with a carpet-bag 
for a pillow, while nothing but a canvas divided them 
from the women, who seemed to talk incessantly 
during their similar process, scarcely interrupted by 
the cries of infants — drove away these reflections for 



THE FOLD OF FLOCKS. 131 

the present. Every once in a few moments, for hours, 
Cyprian cried out in stentorian tones, "Glory to God ! 
O, I am on the mount ! " Similar sounds were heard 
also from one of the adjoining tents ; and in another, 
a meeting of the most arousing description was in 
progress all night. 

It is contrary to the rules of the camp-meeting to 
have meetings in the tents, or other disturbances, after 
ten o'clock ; but on the later nights of the week, this 
rule, under extraordinary occasions, is sometimes sus- 
pended or ignored. 

Israel found it impossible for him to shut his eyes 
in sleep ; he therefore arose and went to the tent where 
the meeting was in progress. Here he perceived that 
two or three persons lay in the arms of others of their 
own sex, apparently in a stupor ; one of them occa- 
sionally rallied sufficiently to shout. On inquiry, he 
was told that these had passed into that state which is 
called " losing the strength." 

He ventured to ask a man who seemed inclined to 
talk with him, if there was any spiritual authority 
for this demonstration ; and was referred to the 
example of Saul of Tarsus, who was on his way 
to Damascus ; to the case of the prophet Daniel, 
who says when he saw the "great vision," "and 
there remained no strength in me ; " and to John, 
in the Apocalypse, who saw the one in the midst of 
the seven golden candlesticks, and "fell at his feet 
as dead." 

" Were not those more extraordinary cases than it 
is possible for any of these to be ? " asked Israel ; 
"Those persons saw Christ himself, or at least his 



132 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

angels, which sufficiently accounts for their remark- 
able prostration." 

"But these," continued the other, "have had revela- 
tions, by the power of great faith, here to-night, in 
answer to prevailing and almost unceasing prayer, as 
great, comparatively speaking, as the divine ones. 
Friend ! have you ever been converted ? " he suddenly 
asked. 

"I trust I have," answered Israel, in a modest 
tone. 

u Then you will understand what I mean," he con- 
tinued, " when I say that the soul, convicted of its 
need of the application of the cleansing blood — and 
truly seeing itself, and also having a clearer vision 
than ever before of the pure and infinitely holy Jesus, 
might, under certain favorable physical circumstances, 
lose its power of self-control, and to appearance be- 
come as dead. We have had a glorious meeting 
to-night, and Jesus has been right here in our midst, 
doing wonders, whereof we are glad, and rejoice with 
exceeding great joy." 

" It may be so " answered Israel reverently ; " and 
I would not be one to speak a word or harbor a thought 
against the possibilities of the work of the Holy Spirit. 
Yet I remember that when Job saw the Lord, or his 
angel, it affected him with supreme self-abasement as 
never before ; 'but now mine eye seeth thee, where- 
fore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.' 
Less than ever, did he feel that he was holy." 

" With the doctrine of holiness," answered the 
man, " I have not much to do. It may be true and 
it may not." 



THE FOLD OF FLOCKS. I33 

" What ! then you, sir, are not a Methodist? " asked 
Israel. 

"I've been a member of the Methodist Church 
since I was fifteen years old. I was converted at a 
place much like this," he replied. 

" I thought all Methodists, that is, all who continue 
steadfast in the doctrine of the Church, believed and 
taught Holiness or Christian Perfection," said Israel. 

The man shook his head. 

" I suppose it's generally thought so," he said, " but 
not half of our people think much about it any way. 
Half of those who look into it at all, are ready to offer 
a reward for the sight of a perfect man or woman, 
since they never yet have seen one." 

" The sermon, certainly, was a good one, which 
we had this evening on that subject," continued Israel. 

" O yes, very good for theory — very good to awaken 
the people. I guess you are not used to camp-meet- 
ings, are you?" 

" This is my first attendance," said Israel. 

" Like it? " he continued. 

" I have not yet made up my mind," said Israel. 

At this juncture, the shouting and the singing be- 
came so powerfully sonorous, the conversation had to 
be suspended. 



134 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

AN OLD MAN'S OPINION OF METHODISM. 

The more Israel observed of this people, the more 
undecided was he what course to pursue respecting 
them. Some features of their faith and also of their 
practice commended themselves strongly to his appro- 
bation ; of certain others he was in doubt ; and yet 
others he wholly disliked. 

He wrote to his guardian for advice, and received 
the following : — 

"You ask me my opinion of the Methodists, so 
called — referring, I conclude, to the largest body of 
that family in this country. Never was there a more 
palpable misnomer. A set of doctors of medicine, 
who lived about a century before Christ, first wore it, 
for what reason I know not, unless it was that they 
killed systematically. In the seventeenth century, 
certain Roman Catholics, who could split a hair 
between their dogmas and those of the Protestants, 
were called Methodists. 

"In 1729, in England, there arose a ' godly club/ 
headed by John Wesley, to which this name was 
finally fixed. You had better hunt up an account of 
this religious movement, which is considered by the 



AN OLD MANS OPINION OF METHODISM. I35 

impartial historian one of the most remarkable events 
that ever happened in the annals of all Christendom. 
A great deal of its notoriety is derived from the fact 
of the then existing corruptions of the old Church of 
England, which furnished a splendid dark background 
for the new lights and strange shadows of the doings 
of these people. 

"John Wesley was somewhat like Job. He, at first, 
sat down among the ashes of the mother church, with 
his three, friends for counsellors, and scraped himself 
of its prevailing sins with the potsherd of self-denial. 
He then prepared himself by fasting and prayer, with 
works of charity, for his future mission. 

"After a time he took a wife, and he thought she 
spoke like one of the foolish women, and deported 
herself still more like a fool, in being jealous of him. 
But not many women would bear to have their hus- 
bands away from them most of the time, in all sorts of 
places, though preaching, and writing meanwhile the 
most 'bowel-moving' letters to hosts of women, any 
more gracefully than did Mrs. Wesley. 

"Like Job, also, he lost his old estate in the estab- 
lishment, but finally came out with great possessions, 
so that his latter end was blessed of the Lord to the 
surprise of himself and everybody else. 

"John Wesley had executive talent, education, and 
an indomitable will ; but he was narrow, tyrannical, 
and superstitious. [I use this last word not as infidels 
employ it, to fling a stone at the rites of true piety, but 
simply as a Christian does when contemplating erratic 
bondage 'to idle and unauthorized fancies]. 

"In proof that he was narrow, it is only necessary 



I36 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

to refer to his slavish adherence to the Church of 
England, and his general views of the progress of true 
religion in the world — as though it were a sin to send 
out the gospel of a free salvation in any other groove 
than the old, well-worn one, which he thought cut out 
by Christ and his apostles. 

"That he was tyrannical is clear enough in every 
chapter of his history. His whole system, though 
professedly a free, democratic one, is a system of 
tyranny over the will, the conscience, and the actions, 
to the most minute degree. His ministers were ham- 
pered at every turn by numerous petty rules, which 
extended even to what they should say in private, and 
just how long they were to say it. He told them, as a 
clincher to his long list of ' duties,' that they were to 
act in all things not according to their own will, but 
as a son in the gospel, and in union with their 
brethren — which meant as a son to him and in union 
with him. Their rules, which were all framed and 
sealed by himself, he concluded in this manner : ' Re- 
member, a Methodist preacher is to mind every 
point, great and small, in the Methodist discipline ; 
therefore you will need all the grace and all the sense 
you have, and to have all your wits about you.' 

" He taught toryism to his followers who were in 
America at the time of the Revolution. He was 
strongly opposed to the independence of the colonies 
until time and circumstance compelled him to be silent. 
He believed in keeping people under a monarchy both 
of state and church — the first to be centred in a king ; 
the last in John Wesley, as a delegated power from 
the establishment. For well-organized tyranny, the 



AN OLD MAN'S OPINION OF METHODISM. I37 

Wesleyan see is second to no other contemporaneous 
power. 

" That Wesley was superstitious is shown by his 
heed to apparitions, noises, dreams, and demoniacal 
possession. It is true that Scripture warrants some 
belief in these things, but a wise man will remember 
that ; secret things belong to God,' and be careful how 
he intermeddles therewith. From this demonstration 
of himself, though considerably guarded in his own 
case, has radiated all kinds of fanaticism in his fol- 
lowers. 

" It is certain that Wesley did much good. He was 
an apostle of reform to the ignorant and degraded. 
God raised him up for a particular era, and for a 
special purpose. He is entitled to the qualified re- 
gard of all good men for what he accomplished. 

" Philip Embury, who had been a local preacher in 
Ireland, was the first to start Methodism in America, 
in the year 1766. The inauguration of his work 
originated in this manner : Barbara Heck, a pious 
Irishwoman in New York, found this Embury one 
day with a set of other fellows who were playing 
cards. She threw the pack into the fire, and said to 
Embury, ' You must preach to us, or we shall all go 
to hell together, and God will require our blood at 
your hands.' And this man received her admonition, 
and began to preach in a private house, afterwards in 
a rigger's loft. 

"From this beginning, Methodism has become a 
power in our land, eminent for its activity and numer- 
ical strength. Like Ephraim, while it was trembling 
in Israel, it prospered ; but as soon as it began to exalt 



138 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

itself in worldly pride, its spiritual power declined. 
Its present history is strangely inconsistent with its 
real life. Once it was adorned with humility and self- 
sacrifice ; now it vaunts itself in gold and the tricks 
of mammon. It is second to no other sect in its aspi- 
rations for vain show. Its ministers adorn themselves 
with gold baubles, use great swelling words about the 
progress of their sect, and are all athirst for power. 
They are often unreliable, and treacherous even to 
each other. No more regard is now paid to Wesley's 
' Rules' than to the traditions of Prester John. 

"Methodism is adapted to the ignorant and to the 
worldly wise or managing leaders. It is jealous of 
'lay-representation,' of the most liberal education, and 
of refined culture. 

" Its periodicals represent their peculiar style of 
doing and saying. Take up its leading newspaper 
and read at random ; the editor, who has received 
catholic culture to an unusual degree, is justly cel- 
ebrated as one of their prominent men ; you will find 
most undignified and common, often coarse, phrases 
used by contributors in allusion to subjects of the 
highest and gravest import. 

" The annals of its centenary year attained the cul- 
mination of ridiculous folly. The adventures of Don 
Quixote pale beside the color of its denominational 
nonsense. False as fair were its continual boasts of 
what it had achieved and was still doing. Its state- 
ments of what it was giving were most like the old 
riddle of going to St. Ives. An observer, on examin- 
ing closely into the matter, found that, save the alleged 
4 subscriptions ' and ' pledges,' with a few really mag- 






AN OLD MAN S OPINION OF METHODISM. 



f 39 



nificent donations advanced, there was but a compar- 
atively small basis for the foundation. In connection 
with all these vaunts, the name of Wesley was 
recorded ten times to that of Jesus Christ once. This 
name of a faulty man is nailed like a horseshoe to all 
their public edifices and denominational movements. 
Every tenth baby of them all receives it for his life- 
dower. 

" The round numbers footed up under this name 
are the crown-diamonds of this people who aspire to 
royalty. If the anger of the Lord was kindled against 
David, when he, in his pride, numbered the people ; 
and also against Hezekiah, who displayed unto the 
Prince of Babylon all that was in his house and in all 
his dominions, including the silver and gold, what 
shall this people say, in the time of the Lord's visita- 
tion? When Elijah was in the cave of contemplation, 
he was taught that the Lord was not in the great 
strong wind, which rent the mountains and brake in 
pieces the rocks before him ; nor was He in the earth- 
quake, nor yet in the fire. The still, small voice 
spoke the will of the Lord. 

Truly yours, 

Ephraim Stearns." 



I40 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 



CHAPTE R VI. 

THE METHODIST ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 

Not wholly satisfied with the opinions of his guar- 
dian, Israel determined to make further observations. 

In the following spring he attended the Annual 
Conference of this people, which, this year, met in 
one of the inland cities. During this session he kept 
a journal, extracts from which follow : — 

" I had a curiosity to see the Bishop who presided 
on this occasion, as he has the reputation of being a 
great man in the Methodist House of Zion. Probably 
he is better known outside of his own denomination 
than any other of his colleagues. His appearance 
is hieroglyphic. It is common-place at the first glance ; 
ugly at the second ; but by-and-by he gives one the 
impression of a man of power. It is, however, the 
power of a strong man by nature rather than by culti- 
vation. His look reveals a silent but mighty struggle 
with his destiny, or rather, what with ordinary men 
under the same circumstances would have been 
his destiny. His will must have been fire-proof. He 
governs men and religious bodies by this latent power. 
Sometime, if not now, he must have been a man of 
sorrows. You see in his face much that you your- 
self have endured. Hence his charm over his hearers. 



THE METHODIST ANNUAL CONFERENCE. I41 

"When he speaks, I am disappointed, even more 
than when I first saw him. His voice is certainly a 
tone, superadded to which is a wave of brogue. He 
is called an orator. My ideas of what constitutes an 
orator are now all at fault, or else this man is not 
what he is called. As a presiding officer he is calm, 
dignified, correct. 

" This body of men is a study from my position in 
the gallery. It includes more stars and comets than 
did the camp-meeting stand. 

u To-day an old friend from this city dropped in 
upon me accidentally, and volunteered some informa- 
tion. He is not a Methodist, and therefore his views 
are not altogether reliable respecting this people, but I 
listened with attention. 

" ' There,' said he, pointing out a man who sat in 
one of the front seats, ' is the presiding elder of one 
of the districts. He is a great operator, and is noted 
for his long and methodically worded prayers. A 
good and kind man at heart, withal discreet. He 
knows enough to be silent when he should. Astute, 
meditative, but intensely active in the cabinet.' 

" What cabinet? " I asked. 

"'Don't you know that the presiding bishop and 
all the elders of a conference are called the cabinet? 
They lay their heads together and concoct the appoint- 
ments. But committees from the churches have more 
than half to do with this business. There is as much 
pipe-laying about the appointments assigned to the 
itinerants, as at any political campaign of the same 
magnitude of interest. 1 

" ' Possible ! ' I rejoined, ' when only last week I 



I42 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

read in a Methodist paper the devout prayer that the 
people might receive their preachers as sent to them 
by the head of the church.' 

" ' O yes, I dare say. But the head of the church 
has no more to do with it than with the election of a 
fence-viewer or councilman. In both and all cases 
it is providential, or systematically the work of shrewd 
tactics, just as you regard the science of cause and 
effect.' 

" 'Here comes one of the stars of the Conference,' 
he went on. I looked and saw a man, rotund, sleek, 
noisy, but not swift. 

"My companion continued, 'This is a mesmeric 
man. All the conditions laid down in the psycholog- 
ical canon are fulfilled in his getting up. He is one 
who gets on. Unlike the orthodox apostles of the 
most Christian Church, he speaks to everybody whom 
he meets — child, maiden, boy, and hoary-haired. 
Even the lamp-posts of the street receive a blessing 
from his ample shadow. He is not unctuous, but 
simply gracious. 

'"In result, he wins place and honor from second- 
rate appointments, for his limited intellectual acquire- 
ments forbid his engineering the largest steamers of 
the line. When I say place and honor, I refer to 
side issues, as election to political office. 

" 'He prophesies to the people smooth things with 
a loud, sonorous voice. It pays, as this thing always 
will pay. [If ever you take to prophesying, either by 
word of mouth or pen, remember this and copy Tray. 
Have no shadows in your pictures of men and their 
manners, only just enough to bring out the high lights 



THE METHODIST ANNUAL CONFERENCE. I43 

that you lay on with palette-knife. Scurr>ble all your 
work with a semi-opaque toadyism].' 

" ' This man, not unlike his predecessor, finds money 
in the fish's mouth, even when he casts his eloquent 
eyes officially upon the old specimen suspended in the 
Hall of Representatives. Brother Bunsen is a com- 
fortable individual. I wish him well. He wishes 
well to himself. All the people respond, "Amen."' 

" I was on the point of remonstrating with my 
old classmate for his characteristic irreverence, when 
he gave me an unwarrantable jog, and whispered, 
' Behold that youth, just booked for an advanced stride 
in the orders. Not yet in full blast, he does preaching 
occasionally by the job. Meantime, he works at teach- 
ing, and goes by the title bestowed by his people on 
all their male teachers and soap-venders — Professor! 
I should say> all who are not D. D. Mark his car- 
riage. Like a suddenly loosed colt, he bounds up the 
aisle, tossing his "ambrosial locks" to the right and 
left, and snuffing the air with a supreme consciousness 
that his days, being all halcyon, are swifter than a 
weaver's shuttle. A clerical gymnast is this hero. 
That is to say, he takes preaching as one takes the 
bag of beans and dumb-bells, in order to develop the 
muscles and chest. 

"'Mistake him not for a fool. He graduated with 
honors, and devours books voraciously. Moreover, he 
has ideas. One of them is, that this world was not 
made in six days, because, forsooth, it would have 
taken longer to have conceived the plan and power of 
Methodism. 

" ' The plan and power of Methodism have repre- 



144 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

sentative-men, as the ostrich has eggs. Himself is 
one of these eggs. It pips at the Annual Conference. 
Anon, it will hatch, and lo ! a full-fledged, strange 
ostrich, which shall out-run the north wind. Vulcan, 
you know, was educated in heaven, and, doubtless, 
would have always remained there, had he not been 
kicked out. That kick, however, made him, — as one 
in the stomach by a co-laborer, — made Sir Isaac New- 
ton. This young man believes in making people. 
There is power in. the toe of his right boot.' 

" I should so infer," I replied, laughing, " by the 
noise of his unusual tramp ; but this making people 
is as dangerous business as working in a powder mill. 
There is a verse in the Bible that reads something like 
this : ' He that rolleth a stone, it shall return upon 
him.' Milton alludes to it, in these words : ' like a 
devilish engine, back recoils upon himself.' " 

" ' Hum ! ' " responded my friend reflectively ; " ' there 
is no system without its difficulties. Non-resistance 
is a system. So is resistance.' " At this juncture an 
intermission was announced. Several preachers, who 
appeared to be strangers, crowded about the Bishop, 
whose manner towards them was unexceptionable. 

"No sooner was the recess over, than these ministers 
were announced to the body by the Bishop. Thereat 
the whole fosse comitatus (this phrase being inelegant, 
I will substitute that of olla podrzda) arose, thus dis- 
playing their Wesleyan good manners. It appeared 
that the presented persons were representative of other 
friendly denominations, who had come in to spy out 
the land, and bring away clusters of — sour grapes, 
perhaps. 



THE METHODIST ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 



H5 



u To-day is Sunday — the great feast-day of the 
Conference. In the morning, before service, I attend 
a Love-Feast. The church is crowded. One of the 
elders presides. About the altar and in the pulpit 
are other elders, like the six Turkish viziers of Con- 
stantinople, who are called viziers of the bench because 
they have seats in the Divan. Lord Karnes, in his 
4 Elements of Criticism,' teaches that it is fitting for 
persons in power to have higher seats than the popu- 
lace. I am glad that any lord has authorized it. 

" After prayer and praise, the bread and water are 
distributed, when begin the speeches. Of these, I 
remember not many. They are too same to remem- 
ber. But some stand out like a windmill against the 
sky of a picture. One woman rises, and with a high, 
shrill voice, frees her mind, meanwhile emphasizing 
her rhetoric with an expressive flourish of her muff. 
She talks like one in a kind of joyful trouble, if such 
an anomalous idea is admissible. Women, when ex- 
cited before the audience largely composed of min- 
isters, appear somewhat troubled, but yet sweetly 
hopeful. 

" There are some speeches from the preachers which 
are strongly touching and even beautiful. Some are 
fresh from the graves of beloved ones. God help 
them ! One relates a dream. There was poetry in 
that dream, and truth as well. I would record it here 
in my note-book, only it strikes me that I should be 
violating confidence. ' Declare ye it not at Gath.' 
(Micah i : 9.) Young men, scarcely yet out of their 
foolery, (by this I only allude to the old Italian prov- 
erb, ' Men learn to shave on the chin of a fool,') rise 
10 



I46 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

and testify. I notice that these are very loud and 
strong in their voices, purposes, and responses. There 
are some young ministers, however, who are truly 
modest and devout in their appearance. Each is, as 
Saul was, ' a choice young man, and goodly.' 

" Matters hasten ; the bell strikes for church service. 
The great bishop will preach to-day. Everybody is 
expectant. 

" I have heard the bishop preach. He is a man 
of power. He made me think, at first, of stupendous 
summits, of beetling crags, and a Western forest in 
December. But as he went on, I discovered beneath 
all ' a fire infolding itself as in the vision of Ezekiel, 
not lurid nor yet rose-colored, but amber-gold, as if 
struck off the sun in the heavens. It warmed and 
spread until there was a glow in the farthest corner 
of the house, and in the coldest heart of them all. 

" The man lives, and moves, and has his being in 
this viewless fire. It is lighted by God. Hence his 
power. I shall remember no more his voice, his look, 
nor other of the elements. He is a result — a tetra- 
chord or four-sounded soul whose extremes are immu- 
table. By the touch of other minds, the two middle 
chords sometimes vary ; but the beginning and ending 
of his life-purposes are complete in himself. The 
man cannot be overruled by state, place, nor human 
mind ; he therefore rules all these. 

u Not all preachers are ' ministers of God's word.' 
But this man is a V. D. M. The Bible is his library ; 
the sacred ecurie, his alma mater ; his degree that 
described in 1 Tim. 3 : 13. 



THE METHODIST ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 1 47 

" The servant is not above his lord, and he is not wiser 
than that which is written. Hence, the greatness of 
the man which is great enough to change his mental 
vectures into chariots of royal purple and gold ; and 

his mien gradually puts on robes of majestical flowing." 

****** 

"As the sermon from his lips proceeded, some 'for 
joy tenderly wept ; ' others responded in deep, sympa- 
thetic tones, yet others became noiseful, possessed with 
that spirit which shines equally at a dead-wake or a 
figary, though clothed in an appearance better painted 
by Milton : — 

'Earth trembled from her entrails, as again 
In pangs, and Nature gave a second groan.' 

Evidently the bishop did not savor this as of true 
knowledge. Gently was wrought into his speech a 
rebuke to all excessive demonstrations. 

" The storm immediately subsided, and emotion dis- 
appeared. The sun came out, and every man looked 
on his neighbor as though he could smile. The sym- 
pathetic silence of true souls is more grateful to a 
great man than the hoarsest and loudest echoes of 
meaningless minds. 

"There is a character sifting at these Conferences. 
The name of each member (and by member I mean 
travelling preacher, so called, as no other belongs to 
this body,) is read aloud. He retires from the audi- 
ence room, and the question is asked which involves 
the sift. If they are really faithful to this line of 
mark, they do well. ' A good institution would this 



I48 AMONG THE METHODISTS. 

prove in other denominations. But how entirely 
silent are the newspaperial organs of the sect which 
has a new exile from the Paradise of Innocence ! As 
though silence were a proposition whose demonstra- 
tion insures the success of oblivion ! Thank God ! 
there is a secular press which is emancipated from the 
serfdom of priestcraft ! 

" How pleasant must be the sensations of these 
ministers who wait to hear their appointments read 
off for the year ! A. B., who has been to college, and 
knows an enthymeme from the syllogism, and the year 
when rotary pumps were invented, is portioned off to 
Valley-Hack, which has a church of thirteen paying 
members, no one of whom owns but three books, viz : 
the Bible, the Life of John Wesley, and Memoirs of 
Hester Ann Rogers. A young man of talents is A. 
B., and under an imprescriptible career would make a 
fair show of a man ; as it is, the service of man- 
pleasing and stone-rolling will cramp his motions, 
deaden his energies, and file his teeth so that he will 
not know himself when forty years old — unless he 
discovers an aptitude for Methodistical sycophancy 
and sound, in which event he may ultimately be sent 
to a city charge, which, though greater in numbers and 
wealth than Valley-Hack, has scarcely more resources 
of an intellectual nature. 

"But even this is not to last more than two or three 
years consecutively, at the longest. By-and-by he is 
passed over to the superannuated list, and gets a paltry 
stipend. What a career for a free man in a free 



THE METHODIST ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 149 

land ! What an illustration of the Latin proverb, 
' Anguillam cauda ienes I ' " 

(The two foregoing notes were pencilled in the 
note-book by his friend, while Israel was engaged in 
finding a hymn for an old lady who sat next him.) 



AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS 



CHAPTER I. 

THE EPISCOPAL ORDINATION. 

When reading the history of Mr. Wesley's work in 
England, Israel noticed these words written by him 
two years before his death : " I declare once more, that 
I live and die a member of the Church of England, 
and that none who regard my judgment or advice 
will ever separate from it." 

He had, therefore, considerable curiosity to make 
some investigations in this faith and practice, before 
arriving at the decision to which he was constantly 
aiming. A favorable opportunity for observation was 
soon presented. A friend of that religious organ- 
ization invited him to be present on the occasion of 
the ordination of several presbyters or priests, by the 
bishop of that diocese. 

His Episcopal friend called his attention, with no 
little enthusiasm, to the superior architecture of their 
church. 

" In all these things, we transmit, as nearly as pos- 
sible, the most ancient and reverential symbols of the 
pure church of Christ and his apostles," he said, while 
he went on to explain to Israel the beauties of the 
Gothic order, which he believed to have originated 
from an avenue of over-arching trees. " Doubtless," he 

i<U 



152 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

continued, "there was such an avenue in the garden 
of Gethsemane." 

U I was taught," said Israel, "that the pointed 
arch arose from the intersection of semi-circular arches 
in that Norman style which went before the Gothic." 

"You see the circular window above the entrance," 
his friend continued, without appearing to notice his 
objection ; " that is typical of the silence which should 
reign in the house of God." 

" That is the rose window, which is often called 
a ' Catharine wheel ; ' and the name being that of a 
woman, I can hardly reconcile it with your explana- 
tion," said Israel. But to this, likewise, his friend 
vouchsafed no notice. They were next at the inner 
church doors. 

"These three doors may signify the Word, the 
Sacraments, and the Ministry in the three orders of 
Bishops, Priests, and Deacons," he continued, in a low 
voice. 

The "dim, religious light" which came in through 
the lofty, stained windows, was calculated to remind 
a student like Israel of many things of which he had 
read among the annals of the past. He questioned 
within himself if this partial obscurity was also 
typical. 

His friend had also much to say to him about the 
chancel and the large window directly in front of the 
audience seats, on which were represented many 
symbolical devices. As the day was not Sunday, he 
took occasion to explain many of the peculiarities of 
"the church." 

" But why do you call your church, ' the church,' 



THE EPISCOPAL ORDINATION. 153 

as though that was the only one?" inquired Israel at 
length. 

"We hold no other ministry to be valid than that 
which we trace as a direct succession from the apos- 
tles, and no place of divine worship to be truly conse- 
crated except by such persons," answered his friend, 
very gravely. 

"Then you believe that other denominations are no 
more than outside heathen," said Israel. 

"They are certainly not 'the church of the Living 
God, the pillar and ground of the truth ; ' for they do 
not receive the truth nor conform to its dictates as 
taught in the word of God. Their ministry proceeds 
from themselves, and not from men consecrated by 
men who could trace their ecclesiastical parentage 
through Archbishop Sheldon, and on through the 
English, Italian, and Irish Episcopate, to the apostles 
themselves, as can our ministers." 

"You talk like a Roman Catholic," said Israel. 

" The Roman Catholics have the truth with them, 
the same as we have ; only they have become cor- 
rupted. If I were on my death-bed, and could not 
get access to the ministers of my own church, I should 
not scruple to avail myself of the privilege of their 
priestly offices," he replied. 

" But would you not also permit the attendance of a 
Baptist, a Congregational, or a Methodist clergyman ? " 
pursued Israel. 

His friend shook his head. " No," said he, " not as 
ministers of God, for that would be lending counte- 
nance to error. They are only laymen, made what 
they claim to be by men like themselves, and hi some 



154 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

instances, not so good. Our ministers never permit 
these unauthorized men to come into their pulpits ; 
neither are they ever found in theirs, more than they 
would go to any reading or lecture room." 

" I think," said Israel, " that there is a divine pro- 
vision for any man, whereby he may die alone and 
die well ; of this I would avail myself rather than to 
put my confidence in any arm of flesh." 

"People are ignorant," his friend went on, "else 
they would all be of the Church. They do not know 
the errors into which they have been blindly led. 
They do not know that the bishops, priests, and 
deacons, in an unbroken succession from the apostles, 
are with us and not with them." 

"No; they do not," answered Israel. As the con- 
gregation began to gather rapidly, further conversation 
was suspended. 

When there appeared upon that part of the house 
appropriated to the reading desk or ambo, a priest in 
a long white robe, who knelt at the pulpit, as also 
other of these men with the Bishop, Israel gazed 
attentively and studied carefully. 

Throughout the ceremony, as much time as he could 
spare from the prayer-book, he studied the faces of 
those men. Recently, he had somewhere read that 
no man can wholly conceal himself from the eye of 
one who studies character in the face, and he resolved 
to profit by the dogma. 

Something like this he might have seen : a company 
of men, who strongly associated with " the church " 
that important ecclesiastical word " Living?' For 
the sake of this word, which was full of spiritual and 



THE EPISCOPAL ORDINATION, 



l 55 



temporal consolation, t; the church" had won them 
(with but one or two exceptions) from other Christian 
folds, which did not offer so many inducements apper- 
taining thereto. 

With this word was also associated that other, of 
scarcely inferior value. — Pozi'er. 

Magical words — " Living" "Power" / One other 
they required to complete the perfect three-fold Epis- 
copal charm — viz., " Infallibility" Without this, 
the others were broken, limp, liable to vanish away. 

This authorized the look they wore, and which 
seemed to say. " I am right. All others, save the 
Roman Catholics, are wrong. We are the only pure 
Church of Christ and his Apostles. Stand aside, who 
follow and obey us not." 

With a kind of attempt at churchly gust did these men 
engage in their united service, sometimes in the acme 
of their chants, casting a sidelong glance down upon 
the congregation to witness the effect of such concen- 
trated devotion. 

All of them chanted on full stomachs. They kept 
the faith in the succession of a harmless and useful 
apostolical wine for the sake of that member of the 
body, not less faithfully than other traditions. It was 
just as certain in their private credo that several flagons 
accompanied St. Paul to plant Episcopacy in Briton, 
as that he really went there on that errand. 

To many readings, chantings, and prayers, accom- 
panied by gettings up and sittings down, did Israel 
there listen, but in none was he so much interested as 
the ordination service. There had been changing of 
gowns in the adjacent closet, till all were now fixed 



156 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

for the business in hand. Of what took place, he 
most pondered on the following : — 

The Bishop was addressed by the priest who pre- 
sented the deacons for the office of priest, as " Rev- 
erend Father in God." 

Among the questions propounded to the candidates 
by the Bishop were these, with their affirmative an- 
swers : 

"Will you be diligent in prayers and in reading 
of the Holy Scriptures, and in such studies as help to 
the knowledge of the same, layi?ig aside the study 
of the world and the Jlesh ? 

" Will you be diligent to frame and fashion your 
own selves, and your families, according to the doc- 
trine of Christ, and to make both yourselves and them, 
as much as in you lieth, wholesome examples and ftat- 
ter?is to the flock of Christ? 

" Will you reverently obey your chief ministers, 
unto whom is committed the charge and government 
over you, following with a glad mind and will their 
godly admonitions, and submitting yourselves to their 
godly judgments ? " 

When all the questions pertaining to the ceremony 
were concluded, several of the presbyters, as also the 
Bishop, laid their hands simultaneously on the heads 
of each candidate, while in each case the Bishop re- 
peated : — 

" Receive the Holy Ghost for the office and work 
of a priest in the Church of God, now committed unto 
thee by the imposition of our hands. Whose sins thou 
dost forgive, they are forgiven ; and whose sins thou 
dost retain, they are retained. And be thou a faith- 



THE EPISCOPAL ORDINATION. 



*57 



ful dispenser of the Word of God, and of his holy 
sacraments : In the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen." 

Then giving to each one a Bible, he added, " Take 
thou authority to preach the Word of God, and to 
minister the holy sacraments in the congregation 
where thou shalt be lawfully appointed thereto." 

At the sound of these words, so strange and signifi- 
cant to him, Israel looked around upon the people of 
that congregation, to see if they were moved. 

Innocent youth ! he had yet to learn that most 
people who help to sustain these "authorities" "to 
remit and to retain sins," are like the ostrich, which 
swallows bullets scorching hot from the mould, rags, 
leather, iron, and stone, with unqualified voracity. 

Determined not to be hasty or superficial in his 
observations of this people, Israel followed this service, 
by attention to the notice of an evening meeting to be 
held soon thereafter. 

At the appointed time he hastened to the chapel. 
Passing into the entrance room, he hesitated about 
going within until he had made some observations, 
unobserved. 

What was his surprise to find that the audience 
room contained the minister with only about a score 
of women ! Although the meeting was a general 
one, not a "male member" was present. He deter- 
mined to retain his position of observer instead of 
participator. 

His surprise was greater when he afterwards heard 
the minister proceed with his exhortation, as it read 



158 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

in a book, in a formal and reverent manner addressing 
those sisters more than once as " my brethren." 

" This," thought Israel, " is formality wrought into 
folly." He mentioned it to his Episcopal friend, and 
received this reply : — 

" In so doing, the minister showed his faithfulness 
to the proscribed order of the church. A minister 
who seeks to please men by the dictates of worldly 
wisdom, will adapt himself to the prejudices and 
foibles of his hearers, till his own identity and that of 
his sect are sacrificed. Such are worthy only of being 
compared to the celebrated French dramatic writer 
Gasper Abeille, who had a face of such extraordinary 
flexibility, that when he was reading a drama or tale, 
he could vary his features to suit the various charac- 
ters as effectually as though he had worn a mask to 
represent each personage. Who has not seen such 
men among the preachers of the denominations ? We 
had better deserve the imputation of formality, and be 
true to the truth, than be informal actors conscious 
of falsehood and deceit." 



EPISCOPAL DOCTRINE. 159 



CHAPTER II. 



EPISCOPAL DOCTRINE. 



Israel next procured The Book of Common 
Prayer used by the Protestant Episcopal Church in 
America, and read it attentively. From all that he 
there found he inferred that the doctrines of this 
church materially harmonized with those of other 
churches called Calvinistic, so far as he instituted a 
comparison upon a general reading. A more careful 
examination raised a query respecting the idea of this 
faith upon regeneration, or qualifications for baptism. 
Great stress seemed to be laid upon being born of 
water, as though baptism possessed hidden power to 
carry with it, when administered by the church, the 
virtue of the new birth. If the subject were thor- 
oughly instructed in the dogmas of the Prayer Book, 
and received the rites of the church in good faith, all 
was well without any change of heart — any radical 
regenerating process other than the baptism. 

This idea he found from conversation with those 
who were qualified and authorized to expound the 
letter of the instruction. It was true that the letter of 
the doctrine cited as a requisition of persons to be 
baptized, " Repentance whereby they forsake sin : and 
faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the promises of 



l6o AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

God made to them in that sacrament ; " but it also 
stated it in such a manner as to make easy the inter- 
pretation that the "inward spiritual grace" always 
accompanied the "outward visible sign," provided all 
the ceremonial conditions were fulfilled. Also that 
infants, regularly baptized, are at the time regenerated 
by the spirit. 

Upon further investigation, he found that the opin- 
ions of standard church authorities divide upon these 
points. " In baptism," says Archbishop Cranmer, 
"those that come feignedly, and those that come 
unfeignedly, both be washed with the sacramental 
water, but both be not washed with the Holy Ghost, 
and clothed with Christ." 

Another authority of this faith (Rev. C. P. Miles) 
states that "The blessing of regeneration, as shown 
in the Articles and Prayer Book, is a contingent 
blessing ; it is neither promised nor received absolutely 
in baptism, but promised and affirmed to be received 
when the administration of the rite is accompanied by- 
prayer and faith." Of the baptism of infants, he also 
says: "Repentance and faith are demanded as pre- 
requisites even in the case of infant baptism. And 
before the ordi?iance is administered, prayer is en- 
joined to be offered in behalf of the child. The church 
here pleads the promise of Christ ; and assuming that 
the repentance, and faith, and prayer of the parties 
present are genuine, she praises God, after the child is 
baptized, for having bestowed, in fulfilment of his 
promise, the particular blessing that was asked. 
The Church of England, if she errs at all in this 
matter, errs simply by adopting an expression of 



EPISCOPAL ORDINATION. l6l 

charity more extensive than is warranted by the 
circumstances of her position." 

Again, Israel found this statement made by the same 
prominent Episcopal divine : " The doctrine of bap- 
tismal regeneration is held by a large body of English 
churchmen [it might also have added "and American 
churchmen "] ; but it is also denied by vast numbers 
both of the clergy and laity." 

This difference of opinion among churchmen Israel 
found to prevail upon nearly all the points of belief to 
which they subscribe ex animo. The subsequent read- 
ing of the principal works of the Tractarians or 
Puseyites confirmed him in this opinion. In these 
he found stated with unqualified boldness the doctrine 
of baptismal regeneration, transubstantiation, and other 
dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. Indeed, there 
seemed no difference between this branch of Episco- 
pacy and the followers of the pope, save in name 
and certain associations. He therefore abandoned the 
attempt to determine absolutely the real creed of this 
church as they understood it. 



ii 



1 62 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 



CHAPTER III 



LUMINOUS POINTS OF EPISCOPACY. 

For further understanding of this' communion of 
Christians, our inquirer resorted to their history, both 
in the past and present, with testimonies of church- 
men upon mooted questions. In this record from 
differing stand-points there was much which reminded 
him of the " Cato " and the " Anti-Cato," — the one 
written by the Ciceronian friend, the other by the 
Caesarian enemy. 

As, in the Indian mythology, Mirtlok lies between 
the two divisions of heaven and hell, he hoped to 
attain that position for observation, equally distant 
from either extreme. The following are 

Extracts from his Note Book. 

" The Church of England has no real history apart 
from the Catholic Church, until the sixteenth century, 
although the Episcopal Church claims for itself inde- 
pendence of the Church of Rome for more than five 
centuries. After the Saxon invasion in the year 596, 
the Bishop of Rome, Pope Gregory the Great, sent 
Augustine with forty of his order to England as mis- 
sionaries. Augustine founded an abbey at Canterbur} r , 



LUMINOUS POINTS OF EPISCOPACY. 163 

and was the first archbishop in England. His doc- 
trine soon spread throughout Britain. 

" The sixth archbishop from Augustine, Theodore, 
divided the land into parishes, in the seventh century. 

" A writer of the English Church observes ' We 
have now only to regard the Church of England, in 
common with the churches of the continent in the 
mediaeval ages, as whilst emitting, here and there, an 
occasional ray of light, yet deeply involved in the cor- 
ruptions and superstitions of the times.' 

" For a long time the Northumbrian church refused 
to submit to the domination of Rome ; but in 664, 
King Oswy compelled his clergy to submit to Rome, 
which now held undisputed sway over the whole of 
England. 

u Marsden says that Elfric, one of the latest writers 
of the Anglo-Saxon church, A. D. 1014, informs us 
that ' there are seven ecclesiastical orders in the 
church — ostiary, reader, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, 
deacon, and priest.' 

" It was not till the council of Winchester, in 1076, 
that Celibacy was made imperative on the English 
clergy. (Eadie.) 

" Henry the Eighth rebelled from the papal author- 
ity, though it had been in part successfully resisted 
by William the Conqueror. In 1534, the Church of 
England professed to be free. But this freedom was 
only nominal, or a transfer of tyrannical power from 
the pope to the king. It. was still the Church of Rome 
in all but the name. In 1539, parliament passed ' An 
act for abolishing diversity of opinions.' The death 
penalty was affixed to the denial of the doctrine of 



164 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

transubstantiation ; also to denial of all the other 
peculiarities of the Romish faith. 

"Under the reign of Edward, and still more in that 
of Elizabeth, the reformation of the church rapidly 
progressed. From this period it assumed a thoroughly 
Protestant character. The names of Cranmer, Ridley, 
Latimer, and Hooper are associated with the reforms 
from the abuses of popery. 

Wealth. ' 

" The English Church, as such, has ever been char- 
acterized for a love of political and worldly emolu- 
ment. In America, the Episcopal church seems to be, 
for the most part, the church of the wealthy. Their 
beginning in this country justifies the basis of this 
supposition ; their subsequent history, the complete 
conclusion. 

"The first Episcopalians of the New World, who 
were men of power in England, settled in Virginia, 
not for religious freedom, like the Puritans of New 
England, but for 'purposes of worldly emolument.' 
As early as 1621, the Virginia company set apart in 
each of the boroughs an hundred acres of land for a 
glebe, and two hundred pounds sterling for a stand- 
ing revenue for a living, out of the profits of each 
parish. 

" It has steadily increased in wealth, and at present 
has centralizations of church properties of immense 
value. It is exactly suited to accommodate that class 
of people whose wealth demands preservation from 
vulgar contact, and yet whose conscience would adhere 
to the faith which was once delivered to the saints. 



LUMINOUS POINTS OF EPISCOPACY. 165 

This class of persons take ' the church ' as the most 
respectable road to heaven. 

Love of Power. 

"This church, like every other composed of men, 
has displayed in times of prosperity a love of power. 

" King James, who believed that Episcopacy was 
an aid and comfort to monarchy', used to say, 'No 
bishop, no king.* This sovereign was not alone in 
this style of argument. He understood the pith of the 
matter. 

"Archbishop Laud was an unqualified tyrant. He 
hated the Calvinists, and persuaded Charles to make 
this proclamation at the head of the Articles of Faith : 
'We will that all curious search into these things be 
laid aside, and these disputes be shut up in God's 
promises, as they be generally set forth to us in Holy 
Scripture, and the general meaning of the articles 
according to them.' 

"In 1662, the Act of Uniformity was passed — an 
act worthy of a body of men with pretensions to infal- 
libility, which demanded a total withdrawal of all 
investigation. By this act, all the ministers in Eng- 
land must declare ' their unfeigned assent and consent 
to the entire Book of Common Prayer, or be ejected 
from their livings.' In that year, more than two 
thousand ministers who refused to subscribe, were 
made to feel this rod. 

" Two years later, the Conventicle Act declared that 
but five persons above the age of sixteen, besides the 
family, were to meet for worship. 

"Next followed the Corporation Act — 'that no 



l66 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

person shall be chosen into any office of magistracy, 
or other employment relating to corporations, who 
shall not, within one year next before such elections, 
have taken the sacrament of the Lord's Supper 
according to the rites of the Church of England.' 

"The Five Mile Act, in 1665, ' imposed an oath on 
all non-conformists, binding them to attempt no altera- 
tion in either church or state ; and provided that all 
ministers who did not take it, should neither live in, 
nor come within, five miles of any borough, city, etc.' 

"By the Test Act, every person who held any office 
or trust must receive the sacrament of the Lord's 
Supper in the Church of England, within three months 
after his admittance to the office, or be subjected to 
severe penalties.' 

" The Episcopalians of the New World, true to their 
education, having the power in Virginia, early passed 
laws to drive all sectaries from their colony. Six years 
after, a Congregational church of one hundred and 
one persons was dispersed, and their pastors banished. 

"Sir Edmund Andros, a provincial governor of the 
colony of New England, and a zealous supporter of 
this faith, in order to build up the Episcopal church, 
pronounced no marriages valid unless celebrated by 
the Church of England. The Old South Church in 
Boston was demanded and used for the Episcopal 
service, until, in 1688, a church was built, called 
King's Chapel. 

" The same spirit of proscription animates the 
clerical members of this body at present ; and to 
perpetuate their power, they refuse practical ac- 
knowledgment of the validity of the ministry of all 



LUMINOUS POINTS OF EPISCOPACY. 167 

the denominations, and call their own branch of the 
true vine the Church. This is likewise evident in 
the requisition imposed for matriculation to one of 
their principal colleges in America. In the college 
statutes is found the following : 

" ' Sec. 1. Matriculation shall consist in signing, 
in the presence of the president, faculty, and others, 
the following promise : "I promise to observe the 
statutes, lawful usages, and customs of this college, 
and to maintain and defend her rights, privileges, and 
immunities, at all times and in all places, according 
to my station and duties in the same.'" 

" The last clause of the promise is a supplementary 
offshoot of the laws of this Church in olden time, and 
should be called the Act of Gag. Whatever indig- 
nities a student might suffer from this institution, he 
must maintain her ' rights ' and ' privileges,' and be 
silent respecting all her errors. Free speech accord- 
ing to the honest conviction, unless favorable to the 
college, is here totally interdicted. 

Apostolical Succession. 

"Nothing assists this people so much in retaining 
their power as constant proclamation of the apostol- 
ical succession ; yet I find that one of its archdeacons 
says : ' I deny, my lord, that succession of bishops is 
an infallible point to know the church by ; for there 
may be a succession of bishops known in a place, and 
yet there is no church, as at Antioch, and Jerusalem, 
and in other places where the apostles abode, as well 
as at Rome. But if you put to the succession of bish- 
ops, succession of doctrine withal, as St. Augustine 



l6S AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

doth, I will grant it to be a good proof for the Catholic 
Church ; but a local succession is nothing available.' 

"Bishop Pilkington also taught: 'So stands the 
succession of the Church : not in mitres, palaces, lands, 
and lordships, but in teaching true doctrine, and root- 
ing out the contrary.' 

"On the other hand, the Puseyites say: 'The fact 
of the apostolical succession — that is, that our present 
bishops are the heirs and representatives of the apos- 
tles, by the successive transmission of the prerogative 
of being so — is too notorious to require proof. 
Every link in the chain is known from St. Peter to 
our present metropolitan. Can we conceive that this 
succession has been preserved all over the world, 
amidst revolutions, through many centuries, for 
nothing?' 

" Another Episcopal divine says: ' The Church of 
England was founded, probably, in the Apostolic Age, 
and, it is said, by the labors of St. Paul.' 

"Of what real value is such an assertion as this? 
Probabilities and ' they say ' are no authority to the 
unprejudiced inquirer. If we take such proof as valid, 
we shall next give credence to the virtue which, ' it 
is said,' accompanies contact with the bones of a saint, 
and also the toe of ' His Holiness ! < 

" Where is the historical proof that the Church of 
England was founded by one or more of the apostles? 
And if such proof was clear as the noon-day sun, 
what would it signify for this church more than any 
other, — since the mission given to the apostles by 
Christ, was to go into all the world and preach the 
gospel to every creature. 



LUMINOUS POINTS OF EPISCOPACY. 169 

"When Simon Peter had toiled all night a-fishing, 
and had caught nothing, he cast his net on the right 
side of the ship, according to the direction of Jesus, 
and now ' they were not able to draw it for the mul- 
titude of fishes.' In this multitude there must have 
been more than one kind. This event, which was 
typical of the salvation of men by the ministry of the 
Gospel of our Lord and Saviour, proves conclusively 
that it was never meant by the founders of the Chris- 
tion Church to inculcate the idea that there was to be 
included in the Church of God only one kind of be- 
lievers. Had it been so, it would have been stated 
what kind of fishes these were, that there might have 
been motives to perpetuate the succession. 

" Likewise does the vision unfolded to Peter, when 
he saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending 
unto him, wherein were all manner of four-footed 
beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping 
things, and fowls of the air, prove that no one class 
of men is more favorable in the eyes of God, pro- 
vided he hath cleansed them, than another. ' Then 
Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I per- 
ceive that God is no respecter of persons ; but in every 
nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteous- 
ness, is accepted with Him.' 'And they of the cir- 
cumcision which believed were astonished, because 
that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of 
the Holy Ghost.' 

" The Church of England, or the Episcopal Church, 
by arrogating to themselves the possession of i the 
Word, the sacraments, and the threefold ministry,' 
illustrates the claims of monarchists in all ages of the 



170 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

world, — ' We are the men, and wisdom will die with 
us, unless kept in the authorized channels of succes- 
sion in both church and state.' 

The Three-fold Ministry. 

"Their claim, also, to the ministry as founded by 
the apostles in a three-fold office of bishops, priests or 
presbyters and deacons, is not valid. 

" The apostles styled themselves by various names. 
In 1 Tim. 5 : 17, they are called elders and laborers. 
Again they are styled teachers and shepherds. The 
terms bishops and elders throughout their writings are 
used without distinctive difference. This is also true 
of the usage of the ecclesiastical writers who followed 
the apostles. From the writings of Coleman, I find 
Chrysostom as saying that ' the elders or presbyters 
were formerly called bishops and deacons of Christ, 
and that the bishops were called elders.' Also, Theo- 
doret styles both the elders and bishops watchmen. 
In another passage, he says that those who were called 
bishops, evidently held the rank of presbyters and 
elders. Iragneus, Bishop of Lyons, calls all the bishops 
who preceded Victor, presbyters. Jerome adds a sim- 
ilar testimony. 

" From this and other equally copious and valuable 
testimony, it is clear to me that the Episcopal church 
has no warrant for this their assumption of the pure 
order of a three-fold ministry. 

The Liturgy. 

" Another claim of the superiority of the church, or 
its exemption from liabilities to departure from the 



LUMINOUS POINTS OF EPISCOPACY. ljl 

faith, is its Liturgy. Having found an argument * in 
its favor, which, though not by any means conclusive, 
is ingenious, I copy it herein. 

" ' What, it maybe asked, is the authority and what 
is the utility of a Liturgy? I hardly need answer 
that forms of prayer are no new thing. If you ask 
me where they originated, I answer, in heaven. The 
very first suggestion of a precomposed form of divine 
service came from God himself. Liturgies are, there- 
fore, no human invention. 

" ' When the Tabernacle had been erected, and the 
people gathered into it, God gave to Moses a form 
of words wherewith he should bless the people when 
they departed, saying: "The Lord bless thee, and 
keep thee," etc. When an Israelite brought to the 
priest " the first fruits," he was required to repeat a 
certain form of words. Just before the death of Moses, 
God commanded him to write a song commemorative 
of God's mercies, which the Israelites and their de- 
scendants were required to use. In the time of Christ, 
the Jews had a Liturgy in their synagogues. In this 
service he himself joined. He rebuked the Jews for 
many things, but never for using a Liturgy. He cen- 
sured them for J 'or vitality, but never for employing 
forms of prayer. He reproved the Pharisees for their 
pride, and formality, and long " prayers, which they 
made, standing at the corners of the streets, to be seen 
of men." These prayers were made to attract the 
public attention, and so to win the praise of passers-by, 
and, therefore, may have been extemporaneous. 

* From "Why I am a Churchman," by Rev. G. M. Ran- 
dall, D. D. 



172 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

" ; The Jews had never been accustomed to other than 
a Liturgical form of worship. When John the Bap- 
tist appeared, who was the appointed forerunner of 
Christ, and whose ministry was not, therefore, of the 
Jewish economy, while the Christian Church was not 
yet established, he very naturally prepared a service 
suited to his peculiar mission. He gave to his disci- 
ples a form of prayer. 

" ' When Christ entered upon His ministry, He con- 
tinued to attend upon the temple and synagogue 
service, and sometimes took part in that service. 
When His disciples came to him, with the request 
that He would furnish them with a form of prayer, 
as John had done for his disciples, He did not reply 
to this request that John did that which was indeed 
allowed in the Jewish service, but was not to be per- 
mitted in .the more spiritual worship of the Christian 
Church. So far from this, He immediately framed a 
form of prayer, gave it to his disciples, and told them 
to use it. It is not a little remarkable, that this form 
is taken mainly from the Jewish Liturgy. It is some- 
times urged by those who are not accustomed to a 
Liturgical service, that prayers in a particular form of 
words cannot come from the heart. When our Saviour 
was in the garden, on the night of His betrayal, He 
prayed in the midst of the agonies of that awful hour. 
Think you the prayer He offered to His Father did not 
come from His heart? Yet He used a form I He 
prayed three times, using a form of words. Again 
when hanging on the cross He prayed. Did ever mortal 
man doubt that the prayer upon the cross came from 
the heart of that crucified Saviour? And yet that 



LUMINOUS POINTS OF EPISCOPACY. 1 73 

prayer was a form in these words: "My God, my 
God, why hast thou forsaken me ; " a quotation from 
the twenty-second Psalm. The last sentence that fell 
from His lips, ere He gave up the ghost, was taken 
from the thirty-first Psalm : "Father, into thy hands I 
commend my spirit." Thus the Saviour of the world 
died with a form of prayer upon His lips. 

"'The apostles, like their divine Master, were 
accustomed to the Liturgical worship of the Jews ; 
they, with Him, attended the temple and the synagogue 
service. Such was the strength of their attachment 
to a Liturgy, and so firm the habit of using a form, 
that on the occasion of the liberation of St. Peter from 
prison, when their hearts were overflowing with joy, 
and when, if ever, they would spontaneously express 
their gratitude, in an extemporaneous thanksgiving, 
they employed a form, " they lifted up their voice to 
God with one accord, and said," etc. This form has 
been recorded by St. Luke. It is chiefly from a Psalm 
of David. We are not then surprised to find the 
churches which they planted employing forms of 
prayer in their worship.' " 

Much more of this continued able argument Israel 
would have transcribed, had he not have recalled 
these words, found in 2 Corinthians, 3 : 6 : " Who 
also hath made us able ministers of the new testa- 
ment ; not of the letter, but of the spirit : for the letter 
killeth, but the spirit giveth life." 

Likewise this in Romans 2: 19, 20: "And art 
confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, 
a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor 
of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the 



174 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

form of knowledge, and of the truth in the 
law" etc. 

Also 2 Tim. 3:5: " Having a form of godliness, 
but denying the power thereof; from such turn away." 

These words proved to him that the form of godli- 
ness and the letter of the law were not accounted by 
the apostles as of any worth, compared to the true 
spirit of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour. 

Signs of Power. 

" In regard to the authority and utility of their cler- 
ical vestments, I have but to remember the words of 
Christ, ill Matt. 23 : 5. ' But all their works they 
do to be seen of men : they make broad their phylac- 
teries, and enlarge the borders of their garments.' 

" I find an Episcopal divine * has these words upon 
this point. ' As to the authority I have only to say 
that, God has once, in the Mosaic dispensation, ex- 
pressed his pleasure in this regard, and He has never 
annulled that expression of His will.' 

" Why did he not cite the particular instance to 
which he referred as the expression of divine pleasure 
in this regard? 

"Moses took Aaron and his sons, according to the 
command of God, unto the door of the tabernacle of 
the congregation, and after washing them with water, 
he put upon Aaron ' the coat, and girded him with the 
girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the 
ephod upon him ; and he girded him with the curious 
girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. 

* Dr. Randall. 



LUMINOUS POINTS OF EPISCOPACY. 1 75 

And he put the breastplate upon him : also he put in 
the breastplate, the Urim and Thummin. And he put 
the mitre upon his head ; also upon the mitre, did he 
put the golden plate, the holy crown. 

" 'And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's 
head.' 

" ' And Moses brought Aaron's sons [here was the 
succession] and put coats upon them, and girded them 
with girdles, and put bonnets upon them.' 

" If the ' authority ' is here derived, why is not the 
usage of the Episcopal church to clothe their priests 
according to all the pattern, as well as in one or two 
particulars ? 

" Why do not these priests don their canonicals in 
the door, before all the congregation? By what 
authority can they omit the pouring oil on the head, 
and likewise dispense with the girdle and bonnet? 

Hepetltto?i of the Creed. 

" The same divine also says : ' At every service we 
are required to repeat the articles of our belief, in the 
form of a Creed. The Church has a Creed, because 
she is the church. There can be no such thing as a 
Christian Church without a Christian Creed. There 
are some persons, I am aware, who affect to have no 
creed. But Christ has effectually settled the practi- 
cability of such a theological anomaly. Nobody can 
go to heaven without a creed. Creed is belief. Christ 
has said, " He that believeth not shall be damned." ' 

"According to the Word of God, the way is so 
plain, that the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not 
err therein, the type of which way was the very sim- 



170 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

pie looking of the diseased Israelite at the brazen ser- 
pent uplifted in the wilderness. But yet men like Dr. 
Pusey read the creed of the Church with a widely 
different sense from others who likewise read the same 
words in high places. 

" The authority quoted evidently wishes it to be 
understood that the creed of ' the church ' is the one 
of which it is true — ' he that believeth not shall be 
damned.' If we accept the statement, we may learn 
the fate of those who do not believe in ' one catholic 
and apostolic church,' ' one baptism for the remission 
of sins,' and ' the resurrection of the body.' 

" The thief on the cross had no idea of this elab- 
orate credo, but simply said, ' Lord, remember me 
when thou comest into thy kingdom,' for which he 
was promised paradise. 

" He believed. All believe who find salvation ; 
yet all of these do not believe in the church or its 
creed, or yet in its long prayers and mummeries, such 
as ' Reverend Father in God.' ' And call no man 
your father upon the earth, for one is your Father 
which is in heaven.' (Matt. 23 : 9.) 

" I cannot believe that I have found the city whose 
name is ' The Lord is Here.'' 

Israel Knight." 



ANOTHER OPINION. 1 77 



CHAPTER IV. 



ANOTHER OPINION. 



Before closing his present judgment upon this 
sect, Israel took the precaution to send the foregoing 
Notes to a friend whom, with his guardian, he was 
accustomed to consult. He received the following: — 

"Young Sir : — 

" You have drawn your conclusions of the church 
in question, with more haste and heat than deliber- 
ation and wisdom. This, allow me to say, is char- 
acteristic of observers of your age. 

" There are spots on the sun, but who would think 
of condemning that planet therefor as worthless ! He 
who should make the attempt would prove himself 
another " dog, and bay the moon." It is not probable 
that the sun or the moon would take upon themselves 
to stand still in awe of such attacks. 

" This people of God are too old, too venerable 
with precious associations of labor, suffering, and 
renown, too honored with names of the great and 
good, to cast about upon the fling of ordinary criticism. 
Like Jerusalem, she is the mother of us all ; and who 
would think of looking too sharply upon the blem- 
ishes of that face to which we had turned for counsel, 
12 



178 AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS. 

k 

encouragement and strength, from our earliest recol- 
lection ! 

" Her authors have contributed the most precious 
legacies of thought and research of those of any other 
church, and of all other churches together in Christen- 
dom. Her martyrs are most memorable upon the 
page of history. Her struggles for emancipation from 
oppression were the pioneer throes of the birth of 
Religious Freedom, the blessings of which all other 
religious bodies by the means have been enabled to 
share. It is true that this church has had her F wan- 
dering stars,' who have shed their baleful influence 
over those who were so unfortunate as to come within 
the reach of their oppressive sphere ; but in a system of 
such dimensions as this, this is by no means surprising. 

" In particular respecting your notes, I do not like 
what you say about the ministers who appeared at the 
ordination service having been converts from other 
folds. Where will you find a set of clergymen on any 
one denominational platform who number not those 
who have been adopted there? Your own ideas of 
truth to profound conviction, and of charity for others 
in their movements, however seemingly inharmonious 
with yours, should repel the slightest acerbity of judg- 
ment, of such matters. 

" Neither do I like your observations respecting the 
love of this people for power. We should the rather 
admire them that, when possessed of such exhaustless 
resources through the centuries, they have abused their 
power so little. What other Christian people, endued 
with their gifts, would have deported themselves more 
wisely? 



ANOTHER OPINION. I 79 

" Your remarks concerning their peculiarities in wear- 
ing clerical vestments, etc., are altogether unworthy. 
Why not head them with observations upon Revela- 
tions i : 13. ' And in the midst of the seven candle- 
sticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a 
garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps 
with a golden girdle.' 

" Let every people appear in their sacred courts as 
it seemeth them good, and be not presumptuous in 
speaking evil of dignities. 

" Although I have no partiality for this communion, I 
desire to be as just and generous to them as to any 
other. To this end, I would recommend you to study 
them more faithfully and impartially, as you would a 
celebrated work of art, which, at the first, you may 
be inclined to undervalue. The longer you look, the 
more will you see to admire. 

Truly yours, 

J. Abelard Ridley." ' 

Somewhat troubled by this letter, Israel forwarded 
it with his Notes to his guardian, with an expressed 
wish for a judgment. 

He received only this in return : — 

u Quz capit, illefacit" liberally rendered, "Whom 
the cap fits, let him wear it." 

Yours in haste, but without heat, 

Ephraim Stearns." 



AMONG THE QUAKERS 



CHAPTER I 



FRIENDS MEETING. 



Israel began to be less hopeful of finding around 
him the city with the Lord's name and presence, and 
he went out one Sunday morning with no purpose 
whither to direct his steps. He was unhappy, almost 
miserable. There was not a church which he could 
call his home, not a people who seemed real and true 
friends. 

Where was the fault? In the churches or in him- 
self? 

Presently he wandered away into a street apart from , 
the great thoroughfares, with a design of going out 
till he should reach the open country, where he could 
worship in God's own temple, not made with hands. 

A man walked before, scarcely noticed by him till 
he was joined by another who came out from an inter- 
secting street. There was something in their manner 
of greeting each other which attracted his attention. 

The unaffected friendliness of the words "Friend 
John, how does thee do?" and the reply, "I am able 
to go to the meeting, friend Isaac, and it is good to 
walk the old way once more," seemed to Israel a new 
note in the great concert of the world's society. 

He looked more closely. The hat, the color of the 
181 



1 82 AMONG THE QUAKERS. 

cloth they wore, determined the first impression. They 
were Friends or Quakers, evidently on their way to 
meeting. He resolved to follow them. 

At length they stopped before a .plain-looking build- 
ing, which he should hardly have distinguished from a 
private dwelling. It stood within a small, neat enclo- 
sure, and had two doors of entrance, one on each side. 

Israel now stepped forward and inquired. 

" This is Friends' meeting-house," answered "Friend 
John;" " thee is welcome to come in." Somewhat 
in the look and tone which accompanied these words 
made Israel fee£ welcome to go in there. This friend 
showed Israel to a seat within. 

Not a little was he at first interested to observe that 
" Friend John," as well as all other of the men who 
came in, did not remove their hats. Upon one side 
of the room sat the men, while the women together 
occupied the other, both facing one way, which was 
the wall behind the preachers' seats. Soon arrivals 
ceased, and all was still. Israel took the opportunity 
to cast several glances around him. 

The walls were severely plain, as were also the 
seats. No sign nor sound of elegance intruded in 
that sanctuary. 

The women were generally dressed with simplicity 
of color and shape, but the material was often costly. 
The plainest Friends wore the real Quaker bonnet, 
neckerchief and shawl ; but these were only the few. 
Their faces were uncommonly smooth and placid in 
expression, as though the experience of daily life 
brought few distraining cares ; or if they came, the 
alleviating simplicity of friendly hopes came with 



friends' meeting. 183 

them. Some of the young women were very 
lovely. 

The men had a comfortable, self-controlling look 
generally, though there were exceptional cases, where 
the expression admitted of a slight discount in favor 
of worldly wisdom. " Best wisdom" was prevalent, 
but did not universally reign. 

After some time had elapsed, Israel began to be 
restless, and thought it was singular that no move- 
ment was made indicating a commencement of the 
services. He looked at the principal men who filled 
the more conspicuous seats, but they moved not, nor 
broke the solemn sound of silence. He now remem- 
bered reading that these people worshipped in the 
spirit, often coming together without public speaking, 
and composed himself "to do as the Romans did." 

He began to look inwardly and listen to the silent 
teachings of the spirit. But no sooner was his gaze 
introverted than some indefinable impulse directed his 
thoughts before him toward a bonnet, not so plain 
as others, on the opposite side of the house. A 
slight turn of the head had revealed the fair and sweet 
face of a young Quakeress. Just as he looked, he 
thought the dark eyes under the bonnet looked also. 
The Quakeress turned quickly, and now the bonnet 
faced the side wall. Israel tried hard to think of 
subjects appropriate for that solemn occasion, but into 
his mind rushed unbidden the image of Cyprian Cut- 
ting. The sound of Methodist confusion filled his 
heart, and he was there in that Quaker meeting as 
though he were not. 

The gentle swaying of the tall trees in a private 
yard behind this meeting-house was now heard 



184 AMONG THE QUAKERS. 

through the open windows. It recalled Israel to him- 
self and the scene of the hour. 

"O, that I could reflect worthily ! " he said to him- 
self. Then he thought of the words which he had 
read that morning in Hosea 14: 5 : "I will be as the 
dew unto Israel ; he shall grow as the lily, and cast 
forth his roots as Lebanon." " Here," reflected the 
youth, " is the Lord's presence, not as the thunder nor 
the trumpet. He hath not gone up with a shout, but 
he is as the silent, gentle, fructifying dew. Spiritual 
life grows in this soil like the lily, unheard, almost 
unseen, nevertheless sure, and with accretions of 
rarest beauty. As the roots of the great trees of the 
forest of Lebanon spread out underneath the surface 
into a web of strength and fortification against the 
passing blasts, so does the underlying principle of 
this people gather consistency and permanence from 
their most profitable silences, wherewith they are able 
to stand unmoved in the day of adversity." 

Israel now thought of the god Heimdal, who was 
said to hear the wool grow on the lambs and the 
grass in the fields, and he wished that his spiritual 
hearing had been sufficiently acute that he might 
perceive the growth of the goodness which flowed 
from the united pause in the Friends' Meeting. 

He ventured another look at the Quaker bonnet 
worn by the fair young girl, though this time it was 
not withdrawn so suddenly as before. Then he looked 
away at some of the demure men who occupied 
the preachers' seats, as though half-expecting one of 
them to rise. He now saw, with a sigh of relief, 
something new. The gravest looking of these men took 
off his broad-brimmed hat, and laid it down by his side. 



friends' meeting. 185 

Israel thought he was going to speak. The spirit 
had moved him at last. But no ! he shook hands with 
his next Friend. This seemed a signal for a general 
stir. Friend after Friend shook hands, and it was 
plain that meeting was over. "Is this all?" thought 
Israel, somewhat disappointed. " Not by might, nor 
by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord," he 
answered himself. All now gathered together very 
quietly for a friendly greeting and conversation. There 
seemed to be some Friends present who were strangers 
from England. These were welcomed by one and 
another with kind though measured words, which 
made Israel think that the lot of the stranger was 
indeed blessed among this people. 

He had one more look at the bonnet which had 
more or less troubled the deep waters of his soul, 
through the meeting, and was rewarded by a full 
view of the face, radiant with calm delight, the remem- 
brance of which lingered in his heart as something < 
precious, and reluctantly went his way. 

Like the traveller who visits the statue of Memnon, 
he had heard " a strange, sweet music from the cold 
and voiceless marble." When the Mahometans con- 
clude their worship in the mosque, they smooth down 
their faces with their hands, take up their slippers, and 
go their way. Israel did not smooth down his face, 
for it was already smoothed by the viewless, noiseless 
tidal current of the Quaker worship ; nor did he shake 
the dust from his feet. He felt, however, that his 
worldly shoes had been almost out of place on that 
holy ground. 



1 86 



AMONG THE QUAKERS. 



CHAPTE R II. 

FURTHER OBSERVATIONS. 

Some time later Israel was in a distant city, and 
remembering that this was the place of residence of 
one of his former classmates in an academy, who 
belonged to a Quaker family, he took occasion to call 
on this friend. 

In his reception by this family there breathed the 
spirit of unaffected friendliness. His friend was 
absent ; and though no one of these people had ever 
before seen him, nothing was wanting but the pres- 
ence of the absent one to complete the spirit of their 
hospitality. 

It was noticed by Israel that when all were gath- 
ered in their seats around the family board, instead 
of the blessing which he had often heard, each, 
with slightly bowed head, remained silent until the 
head of the family made the first movement to indicate 
that the silence was to give place to the courtesies of 
the hour. Israel had heard that in past time the men 
Quakers ate with head uncovered ; he now concluded 
that this custom was obsolete. 

It being Fourth day, Israel was asked by his friends' 
to go with them to " meeting." He was told that 
that they met for worship on this day of the week as 



FURTHER OBSERVATIONS. 187 

also on the first. He gladly went. The audience, for 
the most part, was composed of women. The Quaker 
men are generally busy in the marts of business on 
Fourth day. Of these women, a few were flain 
Friends, all elderly, who were real Quakers in ap- 
pearance ; the others illustrated Milton's words — " but 
Eve was Eve." Clothed in expensive fabrics of the 
mode somewhat modified, they would have scarcely 
been odd in the most fashionable congregation. Soon 
came on the silence of best wisdom, apparently in 
" calm and sinless peace." Israel looked at the grave 
elderly men who sat on the elevated seats, and won- 
dered if the spirit would move any to speak. By-and- 
by his patience was rewarded by the rising of a wo- 
man, a very " plain Friend," who had a message of 
which her mind must be disburdened. Her position 
being in a remote part of the room from Israel, he 
was not able to hear her words sufficiently to obtain 
the full benefit of them. It seemed, however, to be 
an exhortation to the women to be less conformed to 
the vain show of the world, — a concern, which he 
thought not unwarranted in that audience. Not long 
after this, one of the men stood up, and in a pretty 
loud voice, addressed them. 

He alluded to an esteemed friend who had lived in 
a past age of Quakerism, and quoted his example and 
words to incite them to lead a good and simple life. 
His speech occupied about five minutes, when he sat 
down. This concluded the ministry of Quaker service 
for that day. Afterwards it transpired that they were 
Hicksite Quakers, while another branch of Friends is 
called Orthodox Quakers. 



1 88 AMONG THE QUAKERS. 

The following is the substance of a conversation 
between Israel and these Friends : — 

I. "May I ask why you are called Hicksites?" 

J 7 . "From Elias Hicks, who, about the year 1827, 
taught our people different views of doctrine from those 
before believed and taught by Friends." 

/. "Wherein did this difference consist?" 

J?. "Elias Hicks denied the divinity and atone- 
ment of Jesus Christ, and affirmed that the Bible had 
no divine authority. George Fox, who founded the 
Society of Friends, having been educated in the Church 
of England, kept the principal articles of their doc- 
trine, though he rejected some which they think im- 
portant or essential. He was what is called orthodox 
upon the principal points of belief." 

I. " What did he reject? " 

J?, "The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's 
Supper." 

I. " On what grounds ? " 

jF. " George Fox held that the Christian baptism 
taught in the New Testament is a spiritual one, which 
alone makes the true disciple a partaker of the mys- 
tical body of Christ, and that the baptism of John 
belonged to an inferior and decreasing dispensation, 
In like manner communion with the body and blood 
of Christ is only obtained by a union of the heart by 
faith, while all visible signs are promotive of dissen- 
sion among Christians. 

" Elias Hicks maintained that we need not go to 
the Scriptures for authority in this or other rule of 
life more than to any other book. The light that is 
within us, implanted by God, is sufficient to guide us 



FURTHER OBSERVATIONS. -ISO. 

into all needed wisdom, if we will hold our spirits in 
subjection to its teachings. He held that sacraments 
are unnecessary, but for other reasons. George Fox 
was a good man — a seeker after truth, as the 
Friends were first named — but he had not progressed 
into the best wisdom." 

7". " Allow me to inquire why your sect was ever 
called Quakers, and not always Friends ? " 

F. " It is sometimes recorded that the name was 
given because Fox once told one of his judges in the 
time of his persecution for his opinions, to tremble at 
the word of the Lord ; others say that it was because 
of their trembling manner of speaking. We call our- 
selves Friends." 

I. "Was Fox a man of learning?" 

F. "He was born at Drayton, England, 1624, and 
apprenticed to a grazier. His occupation of shepherd 
was good for solitary thought. W'hile he watched his 
flocks he came upon many wise conclusions. One 
was that his days were evil and it was his duty to go 
out among the wicked world and seek to make them 
better. In 1647, he began to be a preacher of righteous- 
ness wherever he went. In a steeple-house at Not- 
tingham, when the priest took for his text, ' We have 
a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well 
that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark 
place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in 
your hearts,' and went on to teach the people that this 
light was the Bible, Fox spoke out by the strong 
moving of the Holy Spirit, ' O no ; it is not the Scrip- 
ture, but it is the Holy Spirit by which the holy men 
of God gave forth the Scriptures, whereby opinions, 



I9O AMONG THE OJJAKERS. 

religions, and judgments are to be tried. • That it was, 
which led unto all truth.' For thus saying he was put 
into prison. At other times in his life he suffered the 
pain of imprisonment. He died in London in 1690. 
William Fenn said of him, ' He was a man that God 
endowed with a clear and wonderful depth ; a discerner 
of others' spirits, and very much a master of his own ; 
of an innocent life, meek, contented, modest, steady, 
tender.' " 

/. "It would gratify me to know some other pecu- 
liarities of the doctrine and usage of the Society of 
Friends, common to the Orthodox and Hicksite 
divisions." 

J?. " We take no oaths. We affirm." 

/. " On what grounds? " 

F. "It was first our custom by reason of the words 
of Jesus, ' Swear not at all.' We go not to war with 
our fellow-beings, believing this to be a great sin in 
the sight of a God whose name is Love, and whose 
nature is Peace and Good-will to all. As a people 
we, and especially the Hicksites, were in favor of the 
abolition of the dark sin of slavery ; but it was our 
view that this great and good work might be done 
by other means than shedding the blood of fellow- 
men. 

"We do not believe in a hireling ministry or in a 
collegiate training for the making of ministers. The 
Holy Spirit is the only and sufficient guide in this 
matter. That can speak to us through women as well 
as men." 

I. "If you accepted the letter of the Scripture as 
authority, I should quote to you the command of St. 



FURTHER OBSERVATIONS. 



9 1 



Paul, ' I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp 
authority over the man, but to be in silence.' " 

JF. "From the same Scripture, I will say to thee, 
it was prophesied by Joel and spoken by Peter, that 
in the last days, the daughters as well as the sons 
should prophesy, and on the hand-maidens God did 
pour out His spirit so that they should prophesy." 

I. " Then any woman who feels the Spirit moving 
her to speak can do so in your meetings?" 

JF. "The meeting takes time for judgment before 
our ministers, men or women, are approved." 

/. "You spoke of not favoring a ministry who had 
received a collegiate training. Do you not encourage 
your young men to obtain a liberal education ? " 

JF. " We make it one of our rules to give our sons 
a good education to fit them for business ; but we do 
not generally approve of their going to college." 

/. "May I ask the reason?" 

JF. "It is upon our principle of use instead of 
vain show. We also think that they learn many 
things at college which will do them no good in after 
life, and may do them much hurt." 

JFJs wife. " Our people do not approve of their 
sons and daughters reading unprofitable books, like 
many works of fiction." 

JFJs daughter. "Yet thee knows that we do read 
some good novels." 

F. "Thee need not call them novels, dear." 

/. "I think I have heard that your marriage cer- 
emony is peculiar." 

JF, " In monthly meeting, our people who intend 
to be joined in marriage appear with their parents or 



192 AMONG THE QUAKERS. 

guardians, or in the absence of these, with certificates 
of their consent, and propose their intention. A com- 
mittee is appointed to inquire if they are clear of other 
engagements respecting marriage. At a public meet- 
ing, if no such obstacle appears, the meeting consents 
to the marriage. The two persons then stand up and 
take each other for husband and wife. A certificate 
is read aloud, and these two persons sign, as do the 
relations and any others as witnesses." 

F.'s wife. "A bride of our society is not allowed 
to wear a veil." 

I. " A fortunate edict, since the Quakeresses are 
generally too pretty to require aid from any such out- 
ward adorning." 

F. " George Fox taught that we were not to give 
compliments, as they belonged to the marks of a 
wicked world." 

I. "But I am sure Elias Hicks is silent upon that 
subject. He lived under a newer light" (glancing at 
the Friend's daughters.) 

F. (very gravely.) "We bury our dead also in a 
manner peculiar to ourselves. We did not believe in 
arraying a corpse in fine dress. The body, covered in 
a simple manner, was sometimes carried into meeting 
before being followed to the grave. At the grave a 
pause is made. Almost always some one of our min- 
isters speaks a few words. This is the sum of our' rite. 
But of late years we conform more to the world in the 
matter of the raiment for our dead." 

I. " Do you believe in a resurrection of the natural 
body, or, in other words, a literal resurrection ? " 

F. " Some of us do and some do not." 






FURTHER OBSERVATIONS. 



193 



/. " Probably the opinions of Quakers differ as 
much as do their dress." 

F. " We support our own poor." 

/. " Do you require any subscription to your arti- 
cles of faith in order to membership ? " 

F. " We do not. We expect those who come into 
our society as members to be convinced of our belief; 
and after the usual inquiries and deliberation, they are 
formally admitted." 

I. "Why do you say First day instead of Sunday, 
and Fourth day, as also the months by figures instead 
of their names?" 

F. " The common names of months and days we 
hold to be relics of Paganism. They came from the 
heathen, who by these names intended compliments to 
their heroes or gods. We prefer the ordinal numbers." 

/. "Why do you address each other and some- 
times others not of your own body, by Thee and Thou, 
instead of the usual way ? " 

F. " The plural number used in address, comes 
from what one of our writers calls ' motives of adula- 
tion.' We believe in a sensible simplicity in all 
things." 

F.'s wife. " It seems more friendly to say these 
words." 

F. " We do not always use them to our friends 
who are not accustomed to us, lest they might feel that 
we wished to make them strangers. In all things we 
wish to be what our* name teaches — friends." 

Israel thought that they could not readily wish a 
better or nobler object ; but he remembered the injunc- 
tion upon compliments, and was silent. 
J 3 



194 AMONG THE QUAKERS. 

The next day Israel was in a public library. By 
chance his eye fell upon a book entitled " Quakerism, 
or the Story of My Life." He took it and read it with 
avidity. He paused not till he had concluded the last 
page. 

This, with the account of the doctrines of Elias 
Hicks, decided him to go farther in search of The City. 

Yet he ever accounted these "Friends " as some of 
the truest and most valuable of his life. 



AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS 



CHAPTER I. 

CONVERSATION WITH A SWEDENBORGIAN. 

A young man, who boarded with Israel Knight, 
sickened and died under circumstances of trial. All 
the inmates of the house, save one, were gloomy ; 
some were affrighted. Israel was bojth. From his 
earliest memory he had a morbid dread of contact 
with death and the cerements of the tomb. He 
absented himself from a funeral whenever he could in 
decent regard for the feelings of the living. In fearful 
words he ever spoke of the dying and the dead. 

He thought this feeling arose from having lost his 
parents at a tender age ; but persons in all favoring 
conditions often are not unlike him in this respect. 

There was one of his fellow boarders who was never 
more serenely cheerful, more hopeful and happy than 
in this time of general gloom. 

" How is it," asked Israel of this friend, " that you 
seem as tranquil as though this distressing event had 
not happened ? " 

" I can well remember when it was not so with 
me," he replied ; " once I regarded such scenes as 
gloomily as any other person. Not until the true idea 
of death was taught me, did I come to a different 
mind." 

195 



1^6 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

" The true idea of death ! " repeated Israel ; " what 
have you of this which men of science and religion 
have not?" 

" I have the substance of things hoped for, the 
evidence of things not seen. I have faith," answered 
his friend Stilwell. 

Israel remembered that this man was a Sweden- 
borgian, and knowing scarcely more of this belief 
than the name, he quickly rejoined — 

" Faith ! Yes, so had the followers of Mahomet when 
they credited the prophet's assertion that he rode to the 
third heaven on his white horse Alborak, inonenight." 

Stilwell calmly continued : — 

"A beautiful alabaster results from the slow drip- 
ping of water in stalactitic caves ; so does the quality 
of joyful faith form itself by temperate degrees, in the 
recesses of that soul which is blessed with the influ- 
ences of a true doctrine." 

"Whatever helps to rob death in the article, or in 
its associating idea, of its real terror, is worth consid- 
ering," said Israel: "your fruits appear to be good, 
and I would know of your doctrine." 

" Emanuel Swedenborg," said Stilwell, " is reckoned 
either an impostor or a madman by the majority of the 
Christian world. When I say Christian, I mean in dis- 
tinction from Pagan or Mahometan. This is the result 
of crude reflection and the pitifulest superficial inves- 
tigation. Many a theologian opens one of his books, 
and discovers at random some such words as these : — 

(Stilwell took a book entitled " Heaven and Hell," 
and after carefully turning the leaves, read aloud a 
short j^assage, then continued,) " This reader soon 



CONVERSATION WITH A SWEDENBORGIAN. 1 97 

closes the book in impatience, pronouncing summary 
judgment. But what does he really know of these 
sublime and beautiful truths?" 

" Doubtless these works suffer from prejudice," said 
Israel, " like almost all others ; but I am now chiefly 
interested to learn the Swedenborgian view of de- 
parted spirits." 

" We of this faith believe that the spirits of the 
departed are about us. Those who loved goodness 
and good use in this life, perform corresponding work 
in the next. Death makes no change except in con- 
ditions. It disrobes us of the natural body, and clothes 
us with a spiritual one that is indescribably more 
capable of obeying the will. We do not mourn for 
the dead as do some others. We believe that they are 
near us as before, only in a much more favorable con- 
dition. Our friend who has just left our sight has 
only gone out of this state of existence, as it were, from 
one room into another, the separating door being what 
we call death. It was necessary that he should go at 
this time. He had fulfilled the appointed work of 
his mortal life. His spirit had completed its earthly 
conditions, and hence could not remain in the flesh 
another instant. 

" I sometimes smile at the short-sightedness of those 
persons who speak of this or that contingent circum- 
stance as controlling the death of a person. 'If the 
physician had done thus, or if another had omitted 
that, it might have been otherwise.' When we are 
ripe for death, we die, whether it be at one age or 
another, and no mortal power can speed or detain us. 
Death is always a blessing ; hence an event never to 



I98 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

be mourned. In the case of the good, who by a pre- 
pared life are capable of entering a glorious service 
there, all acknowledge that it is infinite gain. We 
believe it is gain to them, and in a certain sense, to us 
who are left. They are far more capable of doing us 
good than when here, subject to the flesh. They see 
more clearly and perform more perfectly. 

" In the case of the wicked, it is also a cause of 
joy, for they are prevented from accruing evil and evil 
development of themselves. Sometimes this wicked- 
ness flows from ignorance and mistaken education. 
These are permitted to receive new and heavenly 
tuition : by degrees they become receptive of heavenly 
blessedness. Their understanding being opened, they, 
of their own free will, gradually turn to the light 
which is another name for truth. 

u Those persons who have had the privilege of great 
light on earth, and yet set their faces as a flint against 
the truth, exalting their own wisdom above that which 
is divine, and refusing to love the Lord and the neigh- 
bor, by death are placed in more favorable conditions 
for the purification of their understanding and will. 
If they continue to resist this light, they become evil 
spirits, and consociate with the inhabitants of the hells. 

" To these, also, death is a blessing, for longer life 
in this world would only have added to their capabil- 
ities of evil." 

u Your theory of an intermediate state has plausi- 
bility, but, I apprehend, no Scriptural authority," 
remarked Israel; and added after a slight pause, u Do 
we not read in Ecclesiastes, eleventh chapter and 
second verse, ; In the place where the tree falleth, 



CONVERSATION WITH A SWEDENBORGIAN. 1 99 

there it shall be," and also elsewhere, ' He that is 
unjust, let him be unjust still,' etc." 

" Your quotation from Ecclesiastes," said his friend, 
" has no reference to a future state. Examine the 
context, which is an exhortation to benevolence, and 
teaches that we ought to give whenever needful, to all 
classes of persons, for we know not how soon we may 
fall into their power, when it will be in their hands 
to deal unto us. Vicissitudes of life are inevitable. 
Events must take place when the causes are matured, 
and no earthly power can change their course. If the 
calamity falls across our threshold, or our most remote 
project, to the north, or the south, it cannot be averted 
or escaped. Therefore we should be charitable unto 
all, that in the day of our suffering the bread which 
we cast upon the waters may return to us. This 
lesson of the inevitable course of events teaches us 
mutual love and charity. 

" In regard to your other quotation, it is exactly 
accordant with the doctrine of Swedenborg as revealed 
to him by the Lord. I have just said that there are 
those who, from their own will and enlightened under- 
standing are evil. These continue to be what they 
were at death. 

"Let me read to you," continued Stilwell : "The 
first state of man after death is similar to his state in 
the world, because then in like manner he is in exter- 
nals. * * This first state continues with some for 
days, with some for months, and with some for a year ; 
and seldom with any one beyond a year. * * * 
The second state of man after death is called the state 
of the interiors, because he is then let into the interiors 



200 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

which are of his mind, or of the will and thought. 
* * * All men whatever are let into this state after 
death, because it is proper to their spirit. * * When 
the spirit is in this state of his interiors, it then mani- 
festly appears of what quality the man was in himself 
during his life in the world, for he then acts from his 
own proprium. All who have lived in good in the 
world, and have acted from conscience, as is the case 
with all those who have acknowledged a Divine, and 
have loved divine truths, especially those who have 
applied them to the life, appear to themselves when 
let into the state of their interiors, like those who, 
being awakened out of sleep, come into the full use of 
sight, and like those who from shade enter into light ; 
heaven also flows into their thoughts and affections 
with interior blessedness and delight, of which before 
they knew nothing ; for they have communication with 
the angels of heaven : on this occasion also they 
acknowledge the Lord, and worship Him from their 
very life. But altogether contrary is the state of those 
who in the world have lived in evil, and who have had 
no conscience, and have hence denied a Divine. * * 
"The third state of man after death, or of his spirit, 
is a state of instruction ; this state appertains to those 
who come into heaven, and become angels, but not to 
those who come into hell, since these latter cannot be 
instructed ; wherefore their second state is likewise their 
third, which closes in this circumstance, that they are al- 
together turned to their own love, thus to the infernal so- 
ciety which is in similar love. But the good are brought 
from the second state into the third, which is a state of 
their preparation for heaven by instruction. * * 



CONVERSATION WITH A SWEDENBORGIAN. 201 

" The good spirits who are to be instructed are 
conveyed thither by the Lord, when they have passed 
through their second state in the world of spirits, but 
still not all ; for they who had been instructed in the 
world were there also prepared by the Lord for 
heaven, and are conveyed into heaven by another 
way ; some immediately after death ; some after a 
short stay with good spirits, where the grosser thoughts 
and affections, which they contracted from honors 
and riches of the world, are removed, and thus they 
are purified." 

"He goes on to say," continued Stilwell, "that 
some of these suffer severely before being fitted for 
heaven, because they had confirmed themselves in 
falses, and still have led good lives. 

" He next proceeds to describe in what way these 
different societies are instructed, and afterwards how 
they are admitted into the heavenly societies." 

Israel continued : "I think you have alluded to the 
general belief of the resurrection of the natural body 
as somewhat distinctive from your own. May I ask 
if this is so ? " 

" The followers of Emanuel Swedenborg, accept- 
ing his instruction upon this point, do not believe in- 
the resurrection of this body which we see, nor in any 
other resurrection than what takes place at death." 

" Then you reject the doctrine of the Bible upon 
this point? " 

" On the contrary we receive every word of Holy 
Writ which we deem the word of divine inspira- 
tion. You are aware that we as a church, accept as 
canonical only twenty-nine books of the Old Testa- 



202 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

ment, and of the New Testament, the four gospels 
with the Revelations. But many Swedenborgians, 
myself included, reverently accept all Scripture a« 
given by inspiration. Swedenborg affirmed that these 
were the books of the word, because only these had 
their internal sense opened to him. We who believe 
all, find no real difficulty in interpreting the words of 
St. Paul upon the resurrection, in consonance with 
the teachings of our faith. We have books written in 
explanation of his pneumatology, which are clear, 
convincing, and entirely faithful to our view. Of 
these, I would refer you to ' Foregleams of Immor- 
tality ' as one of the most valuable of this class. You 
will also find that many eminent thinkers of the 
various churches have received the Swedenborgian 
teaching upon this as well as some other themes, and 
engrafted it skilfully upon their own theologies, with- 
out the slightest acknowledgment." 

" Will you state to me, concisely, your view of the 
resurrection ? " continued Israel. 

" When I explain our idea of the resurrection, I mean 
only our view of death. In the internal sense of the 
word death means a resurrection, or, as we most often 
call it, a resuscitation. When a person is said to die, 
we understand that he has been raised out of the 
material body. By this I mean that the spiritual body, 
or the man himself, has been set free from his earthly 
integument or covering. 

" This is beautifully expressed in Ecclesiastes 12: 
6, J : ' Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden 
bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the foun- 
tain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.' The silver 



CONVERSATION WITH A SWEDENBORGIAN. 203 

cord is the spinal marrow ; the golden bowl is the 
head ; the pitcher the heart, and the wheel the lungs. 
' Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was : 
and the spirit shall return unto the God who gave it.' 
Observe, the words are, ' to the earth as it was] clearly 
teaching that no part of the Divine nature which was 
breathed into man when he became a living soul, is 
returned to the dust, or its former element of matter. 

" The moment of this separation of body and spirit 
is when the motion of the lungs and of the heart ceases. 
Then takes place the opening of the spiritual sight, by 
the angels of the Lord. In some cases this com- 
mences before the cessation of the respiratory and 
systolic motions. Dying persons have been permitted 
to testify of what they saw and heard, to the living 
about them. In this connection I often think of the 
death-bed scenes of the spiritual-minded Payson, an 
unhappy theologian, but a devout Christian, who 
received remarkably clear views of certain things 
pertaining to the invisible life. 

"Mrs. Payson observed to him, 'Your head feels 
hot, and appears to be distended.' He replied, ' It 
seems as if the soul disdained such a narrow prison, 
and was determined to break through with an angel's 
energy, and I trust with no small portion of an angel's 
feeling, until it mounts on high.' Again he said, 4 It 
seems as if my soul had found a pair of new wings, 
and was so eager to try them, that in her fluttering she 
would rend the fine net-work of the body to pieces.' 
He also said, ' Hitherto I have viewed God as a 
fixed star, bright indeed, but often intercepted by 
clouds ; but now he is coming nearer and nearer, and 



204 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

spreads into a sun, so vast and glorious that the sight 
is too dazzling for flesh and blood to sustain.' 

" These, also, were his impressive words : ' And 
now God is in this room ; I see him ; and O how 
unspeakably lovely and glorious does he appear, — 
worthy of ten thousand, thousand hearts, if we had 
them. He is here and hears me pleading with the 
creatures that he has made, whom he preserves and 
loads with blessings, to love him. And O, how ter- 
rible does it appear to me to sin against this God ; to 
set up our wills in opposition to his ; and when we 
awake in the morning, instead of thinking "What 
shall I do to please my God to-day?" to inquire 
"What shall I do to please myself to-day?' " 

"I remember," said Israel, "hearing an account of 
a little child, who, just before dying, raised her finger 
as if pointing to some one who appeared above her. 
In this manner she died, and her body appeared in 
the casket with the little finger pointing upward ! " 

"Yes," said Stilwell, "many are the cases which 
have shown that the spiritual vision is partially un- 
closed before the spirit is released. Persons often 
recognize their friends who are dead. 

" Swedenborg teaches that the good angels are 
always present to resuscitate and introduce the spirit 
to the other world. But if the spirit is evil, he does 
not long remain with them, and separates himself of 
his own accord to be with those of a similar love to 
his own. The attractions and repulsions which we 
constantly see here, continue there with even greater 
force, since all motives to concealment are removed. 

" Now the material body grows cold, and passes into 



CONVERSATION WITH A SWEDENBORGIAN. 205 

the conditions of decay like any other dead animal 
matter. We regard it of no more consequence, 
except out of a decent respect for its former use as the 
abode of the living tenant who has forever left it. The 
accidents of death, like the funeral paraphernalia and 
the place of interment, have no significance to us, save 
as signs established by custom. These signs, I wish 
you to remember, are always joyful emblems to a 
Swedenborgian. With our views how can they be 
otherwise? We feel that the departed one has gone 
beyond the sting of death, and has gotten the victory 
over the grave. W r as there to be a necessity of another 
resurrection like that promulgated by the churches, 
the grave would, retain its triumph, and death its sting. 

" The injurious tendency of this unnatural doctrine 
of the body being recalled from the elements into 
which it has been scattered for uncounted ages, and 
accomplishing a reunion with the soul, is seen by the 
undefined and heathen notions of many Christian - 
writers. These compare death and their resurrection, 
to winter and the awakening of nature in time of 
spring, leaving the inference of a period being passed 
by the spirit or real man in a state of unconsciousness. 
In one moment they will speak of the dead as in the 
other world and also as in the tomb ; as having passed 
to a final state of rewards and punishments, and as 
waiting for the judgment of the last great day. 

"From such instruction, it is natural that "many be- 
came too confused to accept any clearer views than 
the sleep of the soul with the body in the grave. It 
is pitiful that they are thus robbed of some of the 
highest and purest consolations of our life. To them, 



206 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

it must indeed be ' a dread and awful thing to die,' or 
to have their beloved ones come under the shadow of 
such a grim conqueror who consigns his victims to 
the abode of darkness, silence, and final decay. The 
wailings, the gloom, and the despair which often 
accompany this event are seen to be consonant with 
this false and heathen doctrine." 

Israel continued : "It must be a consolation to be- 
lieve that our departed ones are still near us, and per- 
fectly cognizant of what is passing in this life." 

" How can we believe otherwise, when the history 
of the world, both inspired and profane, is replete 
with testimonies to this point. Could Moses and 
Elias have appeared unto the disciples had they not 
been in a state of existence, and knowing passing 
events in the world ? You remember the words in the 
Apocalypse : ' And I, John, saw these things, and 
heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell 
down to worship before the feet of the angel which 
shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See 
thou do it not : for I am thy fellows ei'v ant, and of 
thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep 
the sayings of this book : worship God.' " 

" This was called an angel and not a spirit," said 
Israel. 

" Certainly, since all angels of whom we ever knew 
anything in this life, were once men," answered Stil- 
well. 

" We are taught to believe by the Christian church 
that the orders of angel and spirit are entirely differ- 
ent, the first being superior to those who once lived in 



CONVERSATION WITH A SWEDENBORGIAN. 207 

the flesh ; and generally it is believed that angels only 
are permitted to minister to the world." 

"'You are so taught by Milton, whose theology 
contained more poetry than truth. There is no such 
teaching in the word of God. In Judges, thirteenth 
chapter, you will find that when the angel appeared 
unto the mother of Samson, he is called a man of 
God as well as the angel of God ; again he is simply 
called 'the man.' 

"In the book of Daniel, the angel Gabriel is called 
the man Gabriel. 

" The angels who appeared unto Mary in the Holy 
Sepulchre were doubtless like men, as there is no 
record of her regarding them otherwise. They talked 
with her like men. 

"In Revelations, twenty-first chapter and seven- 
teenth verse, it reads : ' And he measured the wall 
thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according 
to the measure of a man ; that is, of the angel.' 

"I recommend you, however, to read the words of 
Swedenborg upon this and other subjects to which I 
could not much more than allude." 

" That will I do." 



208 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 



CHAPTER II. 

CONVERSATION CONTINUED. 

Israel continued : "I wish to hear your views of 
the character and mission of Jesus Christ on earth. 
Your words respecting the purification by an interme- 
diate state of discipline and instruction, as also some 
of your observations upon the resurrection, have 
excited my interest. In short, let me first ask you if 
you believe in the doctrine of the Trinity? " 

" Swedenborg teaches that there is but one God. 
This God was and is Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ 
(as we are taught by writers of this faith) ' is a Trinity 
composed of the Essential Divinity, the Divine Hu- 
manity, and the Divine Proceeding, corresponding to 
the human trinity in every man, of body, soul, and 
operating energy. In eternity He was Creator, in 
time, Redeemer, and to eternity, Regenerator.' No 
other God will be seen in Heaven but Jesus Christ. 
His appearance there is as a sun high above the heavens. 
Hence, in the time of his transfiguration before the 
disciples, whose spiritual sight was partially opened, it 
is said, ' His face did shine as the sun.' (Matt. 17 : 2.) 
Also in the apocalyptic vision to John, ' His eyes were 
as a flame of fire ; and his feet like unto fine brass, as 
if they burned in a furnace.' The mission of the 



CONVERSATION WITH A SWEDENBORGIAN. 209 

incarnate Deity was, in the language of another, ' to 
check the overgrown influence of wicked spirits over 
the minds of men, opening a nearer communication 
with the heavenly powers, and making salvation, 
which is regeneration, possible for all who believe in 
the incarnate God, and keep his commandments.' 

" Let me read to you from the pages of a prominent 
disciple of this faith : * It was not, then, any selfish 
regard to His own glory which led to this grand 
expedient; but in his love and his pity he redeemed 
us. There never was any conflict between his attri- 
butes. The justice of God is but his goodness in 
restorative action. He does not demand the punish- 
ment of an innocent substitute. (Gen. 18 : 25 ; Ez. 
18 : 20.) He requires our repentance and reformation 
alone. (Jer. 18:7, 8 ; Isa. 56 : 7 ; Luke 24 : 47 - 8 ; 
Acts 5 : 30- 1 ; 1 John 1, 9.) It is not enough barely 
to believe all this, though true ; to repent in extremity ; 
or to confess our sins in the gross.' " 

"But how will you manage the case of the thief on 
the cross? " here interposed Israel. 

" Christ only promised him paradise," said Stil- 
well, " and by what I have already told you, you can 
understand our view of the states after death. If the 
thief, on coming into paradise or the state of blessed- 
ness, found himself fitted for that society, he would 
remain ; on the contrary, if he was evil in the ruling 
love, he would leave there of his own accord. None 
are banished from happiness or heaven by the Lord 
or His angels, more than are they excluded from good- 
ness and its enjoyment on earth, save by their free 
will. It by no means followed that this person was a 
H 



2IO AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

good angel after death, in his ultimate state, because 
he was to be with Christ in paradise that day." 

Israel continued : " Since Paul uses the word 'par- 
adise ' as synonymous with the ' third heaven ' in his 
account of his remarkable vision, into which he was 
caught up and heard unspeakable words, I think the 
condition of tbe repentant thief may be predicated as 
tolerably safe, especially as he was there to be with 
Christ." 

" Place has no importance," said the Swedenbor- 
gian ; " it is state or the condition of the soul and spirit. 
Here, what is heaven to one man is hell to another, 
and the converse. Precisely is it thus hereafter. 
Dives could speak to Lazarus, who was in Abraham's 
bosom, and yet between them was a great gulf fixed." 

" That was a parable," said Israel. 

"Certainly ; but of what use is a parable save as a 
representation of truth ? If it represents a nonentity, 
a falsehood, it is not a parable, but a myth. As such 
it could have had no introduction into the word of God. 

" In this world," continued Stilwell, "there is also a 
great gulf between persons of different faith and life. 
For one of these to be admitted into the life of the 
other, would be, indeed, an indescribable torment. It 
is not the act of the good which banishes the evil from 
their presence or life ; but they go away to their own 
place in the greatest freedom of choice. 

"To proceed with my reading upon the manner in 
which regeneration is effected, and the death of Christ 
made efficacious unto men : — 

" * Man must examine himself in detail ; fight against 
his evils in the strength of the Lord.; follow the great 



CONVERSATION WITH A SWEDENBORGIAN. 211 

exemplar ; (Matt. 10 : 38 ; 16 : 24 ; 19 : 28 ; 1 Pet. 11 : 
21 -2 ; John 12 : 26 ; 1 Cor. 10 : 13 ; 2 Cor. 3 : 17, 18 ; 
4 : 16 ;) and thus, by an union of faith, charity, and 
good works, without attaching any merit to either, 
"work out his own salvation," or qualify himself for 
happiness. We know of no shorter road to heaven. 
A God of truth will not impute to us either the good 
or evil which was not and could not have been done 
by us. (Ez. 18: 20-21.) And though all are pre- 
destinated to heaven, yet none will be forced to accept 
it ; nor will any be elected, but by that principle of 
spiritual affinity which leads those who are by refor- 
mation and regeneration made like Him, to choose 
Him freely and reciprocally. * * * As the ability 
to keep the commands is constantly afforded, voluntary 
perseverance, and constant vigilance are as little as 
could be expected in return.' 

" Here follow words which I desire you to espe- 
cially notice : ' Who then can estimate the importance 
of regeneration, when we reflect that man is by every 
thought, word, and act of his life drawing his own por- 
trait and forming his own state for eternity ? When 
we know that outward realities are but shadows com- 
pared with our own inward imaginations and desires, 
and that we are either good or bad, and, therefore, 
already in conjunction either with heaven or with hell, 
according as these and yet deeper principles are work- 
ing within us.' 

"Yes, my friend," continued Stilwell, closing the 
book,," we are already either in heaven or in hell. 
We may ourselves know whether we are children of 
God or of the Evil — for he that is born of God or 



212 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

regenerated into the truth, hath the witness in himself. 
The sign signifying the presence of the one is heavenly 
love — love to the Lord, which is also love to the 
neighbor, and leads us to do all the good unto others 
in our power. The sign signifying the other is hate 
— hate to all goodness and its source ; hate to the 
neighbor, and a desire to accomplish evil to others in 
gratification of the ruling passion, which is love of 
self." 

u Surely," commented Israel, " those ideas are more 
reasonable to the sense of right and wrong which 
seems innate, than those which make it possible to.be 
in the church, and fully qualified for perfect happiness 
at death, with a life meantime replete with all manner 
of sin and corruption, or yet with a life while not 
especially flagrant in act, is yet disfigured with pride, 
envy, revenge, and a kind of refined, ecclesiastical 
hate. I have often wondered how prominent persons 
who were standard-bearers in the churches, could so 
far descend from their high privileges as children of 
God and heirs of ineffable love, as to bicker and strive 
one with another, and to manifest a will which evi- 
dently proceeded from self-love rather than the love 
of the Lord." 



WHO WAS EMANUEL SWEDEXBORG f 213 



CHAPTER III. 

WHO WAS EMANUEL SWEDEXBORG? 

Israel made this note : " Swede nborg was either 
an impostor, a monomaniac, a superior clairvoyant, 
or what he claimed to be." 

After reading extensively and carefully, he amplified 
his classification thus: " Was he an impostor? This 
man's father, a Lutheran bishop of Skara, West 
Gothland, and many years superintendent of the 
Swedish mission established in England and America, 
trained his child in his own severest doctrines. At 
seven years of age the boy fell into a trance while in 
prayer. After this, his devotions became more fre- 
quent and fervid, and the habitudes of his mind less 
natural to one of his years. Long periods were spent 
by him in abstruse meditation upon the profoundest 
questions in theology. 

" His education was liberal. His life was ever open 
and free of all immoral taint. He wrote many books 
containing experiments and observations in math- 
ematics and philosophy. In his twenty-eighth* year, he 
was appointed by Charles XII assessor to the Metallic 
College. Afterwards, was ennobled by Queen Ulrica, 
upon which occasion his name was changed from 
Swedburg to Swedenborg. He was a fellow of the 



214 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

Royal Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, and also of 
Upsal and Petersburg. These, with other similar 
honors, show the estimate in which the man was held by 
his contemporaries who knew him best. In his travels 
in Italy, France, and England, he was ever regarded 
with a respect commensurate with his claims as a 
profound scholar and a man of pure intentions. Plain 
in his habits and independent in his circumstances, he 
was removed from liabilities of the imputation of self- 
interest. Sweden-borg could not have been an im- 
postor. 

"A monomaniac? 

" Into the negative of this query, the foregoing state- 
ments may be projected as fair evidence. The Swe- 
dish prime minister, his friend of forty years' standing, 
exclaims in his eulogy — 'The amiable enthusiast'! 
What sort of specimen of that tame monster do they 
expect to find in this man of prodigious learning and 
science — whose unsullied honor, whose knowledge 
of mankind, and whose varied experience in life, had 
made him the companion of sages, of princes and 
nobles, of statesmen and heroes, and whose memory 
was honored with exalted eulogy, through the repre- 
sentative of the highest scientific body of his country ? ' 

" On the other hand, it is to be noticed that he fell 
into trances in his youth. On one occasion he entered 
the presence of one of his most eminent friends, and 
announced himself as the Lord Jesus Christ. This 
circumstance was excused by his friends upon the plea 
of temporary aberration resulting from illness of body ; 
by his enemies, it was cited as the legitimate result of 
his early impressions respecting his name Emanuel, 



WHO WAS EMANUEL SWEDENBORG? 215 

and the forceful reaction of the normal condition of 
his mind. 

" I find many things in his writings such as no sane 
spirit would conceive of heaven or earth. I know it 
is a convenient method of disposal for what we cannot 
or do not wish to understand, to say as Festus said 
of St. Paul. 

" Besides, is not the man mad who teaches that 
truth has been revealed to him, after this manner, 
of which we, and especially the High Priests of 
our old faith know nothing ? Is he not beside himself 
who says that a state of heavenly blessedness is se- 
cured, not through the door of any church or sacra- 
ment, but by conforming the hidden life to the love of 
the Lord and the love of the neighbor, casting out of 
the heart regard to the advancement of self by honors, 
wealth, and power? 

(Afterthought.) "Every profound thinker is a kind 
of monomaniac, and every intense worker in any given 
direction is his fellow-sufferer. 

"Was Swedenborg a superior clairvoyant? 

"Those who deny this, call attention to the facts 
that his state was wholly independent of the agency 
of others ; that he was in perfect possession of his con- 
sciousness during all his states of spiritual perception, 
and that he was also in the full enjoyment of his natural 
sight. They cite with confidence his own statement of 
the difference between his condition of mind and that 
of the subject of the state which has since been called 
mesmeric or spiritual. I copy this passage which, 
having been written in that early period of ' spiritual ' 
phenomena, is reckoned somewhat remarkable ; ' but 



2l6 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

they who believe this, (that spirits may talk with man), 
and are willing to believe it, do not know that it is 
connected with danger to their souls. * * But 
as soon as spirits begin to speak with man, they come 
out of their spiritual state into the natural state of 
man, and in this case they know that they are with 
man, and conjoin themselves with the thoughts of his 
affection, and from those thoughts speak with him ; 
they cannot enter into anything else, for similar affec- 
tion and consequent thought conjoins all, and dissimilar 
separates. It is owing to this circumstance, that the 
speaking spirit is in the same principles with the 
man to whom he speaks, whether they be true or 
false, and likewise that he excites them, and by his 
affection, conjoined to the man's affection, strongly 
confirms them : hence it is evident • that none other 
than similar spirits speak with man, or manifestly 
operate upon him, for manifest operation coincides 
with speech.' * ' * * 

" On the other hand, it is alleged that Swedenborg's 
revelations were on a similar plane with modern spir- 
itual manifestations by clairvoyance, in proof of which, 
allusion is made to his announcement of the fire in 
Stockholm at the hour when it occurred, while he was 
in Gottenburg ; of his telling the widow the place of 
discovery of her lost receipt ; and his conversation 
with the merchant of Elberfield. 

"Was this man what he claimed to be? 

" In the forty-sixth year of his age, he affirms that 
his spiritual sight was opened by the Lord, so that he 
was enabled ever after to see and converse with the 
spirits of the other world. ' It was in London,' are his 



WHO WAS EMANUEL SWEDENBORG ? 21 7 

words, ' that a man appeared to me in the midst of a 
strong and shining light, and said, " I am God, the 
Lord, the Creator and Redeemer ; I have chosen thee 
to explain to men the interior and spiritual sense of 
the sacred writings." He believed that he was chosen 
to establish a new dispensation of doctrinal truth, and 
' that all those passages in Scripture which are gener- 
ally supposed to refer to the destruction of the world 
by fire, and the final judgment, must be understood 
(according to the doctrine of correspondence) to mean 
the consummation of the present Christian Church, 
and that the new heavens are the New Church in its 
internal, and the new earth the Swedenborgian or 
New Jerusalem Church in its external form.' 

" This church, he claimed, was spoken of in the 
Revelation of St. John. Upon the strength of this 
claim, he denies the authenticity of a large body of 
the Sacred Canon, since its internal sense was not 
disclosed to him. 

" I cannot admit these claims. 

Israel Knight." 



2l8 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CONCLUDING CONVERSATION. 

"I have, now traversed the whole sea of Sweden- 
borgian literature," said Israel to his friend Stilwell, 
"and my remarkable perseverance at least deserves 
honorable mention, if not a first-class medal." The 
other eagerly inquired his present opinion of the 
founder of the Church of the New Jerusalem. 

" Shall I tell you just the few simple impressions I 
bring from those books ? " 

"Certainly ; I want nothing less than candor." 

"My opinion is," renewed Israel, " that Swedenborg 
would come under the category of men whom Mr. 
Locke describes in his 'Enthusiasm.' The subjective 
states of his mind passed unconsciously into the ob- 
jective. He thought that he heard the voices of the 
other life while yet he was talking to himself, as do 
we ourselves, sometimes, on awaking from a confused 
dream. To be more special : Emanuel Swedenborg 
had been disappointed in love by death, as one of his 
biographers avers. It is bad for an intense man, inde- 
pendent in fortune, to be disappointed in love. If he 
had been poor, this incident would have made him 
great ; as it was, it made him mentally dazed. Wit- 
ness his work called ' Conjugial Love.' " 



CONCLUDING CONVERSATION. 2IQ. 

u Think now of the excellence of many of his 
writings which you may understand," rejoined Stil- 
well, very seriously. 

"His style is immoderately diffuse. The story of 
' The Locusts ' illustrates it." 

" Bear in mind that Swedenborg wrote in an age 
when men took time to think calmly, and to express 
those thoughts with equal deliberation." 

" But contrast this style with that of the Bible ! 
Verbosity is never the attendant of perspicuity. The 
strongest and grandest thinkers of all ages have been 
most concise, as flavors of the greatest power and 
rarest value are also most highly concentrated. The 
Inca Atahuallpa of Peru was more profoundly im- 
impressed by the name of God written upon the 
finger nail of the Spanish soldier, in proof of his 
power, than if he had displayed a volume. The 
Inca was ignorant. Likewise are we. Angels only 
can tolerate extension. God alone dwells in in- 
finity- But one step bridges the sublime and the ridic- 
ulous." 

"It is true," continued Israel more gravely, "that 
with all the discounting points in these works, they 
have a decided value as a contribution to the religious 
literature of the world. I admit what you said, that 
these views have tinged those of many a modern 
theologian of other churches." 

"Why then refuse to admit that Swedenborg found- 
ed a new dispensation of Christian truth ? He teaches 
that there are three senses in the Word — the celestial, 
the spiritual, and the natural. Before he wrote, the nat- 
ural and the spiritual were only but faintly understood. 



220 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

And these indeed were not really understood, only- 
seen as in a deep, dark shadow." 

" There lived before Emanuel Swedenborg's time, 
good men who died well," said Israel. " How 
much more might they have achieved and enjoyed, 
had they possessed the rational views of our faith ! " 
continued Stilwell. u And what they did achieve and 
enjoy was on a similar principle or continent of belief, 
though as yet unconfessed and unknown. How many 
difficulties attending the explanation of the Christian 
religion are cleared away by our philosophy ! In the 
language of another : ' This faith has nothing to fear 
from the progress of knowledge in any of its branches. 
The advance of science never can expel the Deity 
from his own universe, while we believe that preser- 
vation is continual creation. Discoveries in geology 
have no terrors for us. We do not believe that the 
world was made out of nothing or in six natural days ; 
nor do we undertake to account for a literal flood 
which covered the highest mountains, or the ark which 
floated upon its waters, and the difficulties connected 
with it. Modern views of astronomy — with which 
all the eloquence of Chalmers cannot reconcile modern 
views of the atonement — are but part and parcel of 
our faith.' " 

" Here appears a discrepancy of correspondence," 
said Israel. " I was deeply interested in Swedenborg's 
view of the most ancient church being designated 
under the name of Adam or Man ; of the preservation 
of the doctrinals of faith of this church under the name 
of Cain, and this explanation of the words that a 
mark was put upon him, etc. ; of the later compilation 



CONCLUDING CONVERSATION. 221 

of doctrine under the name of Enoch, which being 
destined for posterity, was described as ' God took 
Enoch ; ' of the new or ancient church under the name 
of Noah, fragments of the word of this church being 
found in the books of Moses, allusions to which are in 
Numb. 21 : 14, 27 ; but when I came down to the 
Divine manifestation in the person of the Lord upon 
earth, I was unreconciled according to his own laws 
of order and correspondence. In short, if Adam and 
Cain and Noah were not real personages, but repre- 
sentative names, why was not Christ? If the one had 
no real entity and historical personal verity, how could 
the other have had? I conceive a great difficulty in 
establishing a dividing line between the allegorical 
and the real. I have no doubt that much in the Bible 
is allegorical ; and in that way I have explained those 
expressions which seem inharmonious with revealed 
truth ; but when you strike under this head so much 
as does Swedenborg, an insurmountable difficulty 
arises to my view." 

" You will bear in mind," said Stilwell, "that our 
view of the trinity as explained heretofore, is not like 
that of the churches who nominally accept this doc- 
trine. We claim a far stronger correspondence here 
to the Invisible or Celestial sense in the natural letter 
of the Word than anywhere else." 

" But will you say whether such a being as Jesus 
Christ, Man or God, or both, ever existed on the earth 
according to the version of the Gospels of Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, and John ? " inquired Israel. 

" Certainly ; we believe the Gospels, though we 
explain them by divine correspondence rather than by 



222 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

mere externals or the natural sense. The three senses 
are requisite, and neither alone." 

" If there were such a being as Christ, who once 
lived on the earth, you know it by testimony and not 
by external sight or any internal sense. Then by the 
same reason, why may we not believe that there 
really were such men as Adam, Enoch, and Noah?" 

" Because there are accompanying difficulties in the 
way of believing the letter of this history, which can- 
not be explained by any other doctrine than that of 
correspondence according to the internal sense of the 
Word." 

"I do not entirely concede that," replied Israel. 
"Your doctrine of correspondence has more worth as 
a natural curiosity, than as a spiritual verity. I accept 
it as a servant to truth, but not as its master. To me, 
it is always deeply interesting to study the Holy Scrip- 
tures with reference to the inner and spiritual sense, as 
also to study the uninspired scriptures of the earth, 
and the nature and appearances of men with the aid 
of the doctrine of correspondence ; indeed, I have a 
strong passion for the comparison of the visible with 
the invisible, the exterior with the interior, and the 
body with the immortal principle which animates it ; 
but this doctrine makes no laws for me which conflict 
with my freedom of understanding and continued 
scope of investigation. I will have no insuperable 
barriers to thought. No despot, with drawn sword of 
written dicta, shall stand at the gate of my investiga- 
tion of truth. But mark you, my truth is complete in 
itself. It is just as good at the beginning as at the end. 
This is my dictator, master, and friend. I seek it, 



CONCLUDING CONVERSATION. 223 

often blindly, always, I trust, reverently. Do you ask 
its name? It is not divine correspondence nor spiritual 
influx ; it is not progress nor emancipation. These 
all, I esteem and reckon good helps. But they shall 
keep their places by my side, and not in the van. 

"It is God — revealed to me sufficient for all the 
designs of my existence here and hereafter, in His 
Word ; and I accept these words : ' All Scripture is 
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
righteousness.' " 

" So also do I," answered his friend ; " but this does 
not prevent me from accepting Swedenborg's expla- 
nation of such portions of the Scripture as he has 
attempted to unfold. There is no doubt but that the 
apostles, who frequently refer to the Old Testament in 
their writings, regarded many portions as allegorical or 
written by divine correspondence," answered Stilwell. 

"What proof have you of this?" .continued 
Israel. 

" If you turn to the Epistle to the Galatians, 4 : 22, 
23, 24, 25, you will find these words : ' For it is writ- 
ten that Abraham had two sons ; the one by a bond- 
maid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was 
of the bondwoman was born after the flesh ; but he of 
the freewoman was by promise. Which things are 
an allegory : for these are the two covenants ; the one 
from Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which 
is Agar. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, 
and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in 
bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is 
above is free, which is the mother of us all.' " 



224 AMONG THE SWEDENBORGIANS. 

"Are those the words in our version?" now asked 
Israel in surprise. 

"Certainly; you see that I have your Bible in my 
hand. Read for yourself." 

Israel took the book and read. 

"I never noticed that passage before in this light," 
he said. 

At this moment they were interrupted by the ap- 
pearance of a gentleman, a friend to both parties, who 
said in a loud voice : — 

" Allegories ! I have been listening to some of your 
conversation, and I think the finest allegory for the 
present point, is found in Virgil : ' Claudite jam rivos, 
■pueri; sat ftrata biberunt? Although you are both 
learned ' veal,' I must give a translation, lest you 
escape the force thereof. Hear ! ' Dam the rivers, 
boys ; the meadows have drank enough.' " 

" Of what use is so much talk about Abraham and 
his womeji-folk and all the rest of it, in the New 
Jerusalem light? I went to that church, once, and I 
came away swimming like a mote in the beams of the 
sun. I could think of nothing but heat and light, 
light and heat, love and wisdom, wisdom and love, 
the Lord and the sun, the sun and the Lord, all of 
which was of inconceivable good to me ! " 

"Nevertheless," said Israel, laughing quietly, "this 
doctrine as explained to me by my friend Stilwell, has 
done me more good than I can suitably acknowledge. 
Never again shall I regard death as before. A new 
light has been shed upon that else dark and appalling 
scene. The friend, whose body we have lately fol- 
lowed to the tomb, is not dead, but ushered into a life 



CONCLUDING CONVERSATION. 225 

a thousand times more real than ours, — while yet he 
is cognizant of what we say and do ! " 

" I could have told you that without the aid of 
Emanuel Swedenborg," rejoined the other ; " only 
last evening I talked with him for a couple of hours. 
By the way, he desired to be remembered to you." 

Both young men regarded the speaker for a moment, 
as though they questioned his sanity. 

" Nothing remarkable in that, is there," he con- 
tinued, " when there is a ' medium ' in the next street. 
You have heard of the celebrated Mrs. Kennett? " 

"What!" exclaimed Israel, " is she in town?" 

"Yes ; and I was at one of her sittings, last night." 

" I should like to see her," said Israel. 

"Certainly, that is reasonable. She has forgotten 
more than Swedenborg ever knew. She says she has 
spoken with him several times, and he always tells 
her that he was wrong in some respects when he wrote 
his books on earth. In short, Emanuel Swedenborg 
is played out." 

Stilwell looked disgusted, but was silent ; Israel was 
thoroughly curious. 

" You shall go with me to listen to Mrs. Kennett, 
and you will soon be a Spiritualist," concluded the 
gentleman. 



*5 



AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS 



CHAPTER I. 

A SITTING WITH A SPIRITUAL MEDIUM. 

Israel, with his friend Thomaston sitting a little 
apart, was placed in a position just before the medium. 
She rubbed her eyes, dropped her head, on which she 
made passes, and giving one or two long breaths, all 
was ready. The chasm between earth and the invis- 
ible world was bridged. 

"I see," she began in a low, disjointed, but yet con- 
fident voice, " some one standing just behind you who 
is out of the form, I think. Yes, she is out of the 
form. By that, I mean, she is what we call dead. 
She is of medium height, is slight in figure, and grace- 
ful in her movements. I think she must have died of 
consumption. Her face is thin, and wears a hectic 
flush. Her eyes are sunken, but very bright ; they are 
of a dark hazel color. Her hair is also dark, and is 
put back from her brow in two or three long curls. 
She must have been beautiful when in health. She 
has a small scar upon her right temple. She wears a 
black dress, and appears to be in mourning, They 
come to us as they looked in life, that we may identify 
them. Do you know who this person can be ? " 

" No," answered Israel, with a slightly unsteady 
tone. The assertion that one who was dead stood just 

227 



228 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

behind them, with a hand on his head, made him 
rather uncomfortable. 

"I should think," said the medium, "that. she was 
about twenty-seven or thirty years old when ' she 
died." 

She paused now, her eyes remaining closed ; and 
after a few minutes, resumed by saying, " she tells me 
you are her son. She must be your mother ! Is your 
mother out of the form ? " 

"My mother is dead," answered Israel, with in- 
creasing awe. 

" She says, ' My dear boy, how glad I am that you 
have come to talk with me. For this privilege I have 
waited long and prayerfully. I am almost always 
near you, though you do not know it.' 

" Another person out of the form appears now at 
her side. It is a man who was considerably older 
than your mother when he died. He was rather full 
in figure. He breathes with difficulty, and he often 
lays his hand on his heart. This is to show that some 
disease connected with his heart was the occasion of 
his death. He has very light hair, a blue eye, but 
penetrating and dark in its expression, and a Roman 
nose. His mouth is wide, firm, but pleasant, and his 
whole appearance is of a man of superior culture. I 
think he was highly educated. By the books and 
papers which I see about him, I should judge he 
belonged to one of the professions — the Law, I think. 
Can you tell who this person is?" 

" If my mother is here, ask her," said Israel. 

After a brief silence, she said : " Your mother tells 
me it is your father. Are your parents both dead ? " 



A SITTING WITH A SPIRITUAL MEDIUM. 229 

Israel admitted the fact rather reluctantly. "But 
my father was not a lawyer," he added. 

"Perhaps he was a physician, though I see no 
special signs of that profession. No, I think now he 
was a clergyman. He appears to be reading a book 
which I think is in some foreign language, and I see 
something there which looks like a written sermon. 
But if he was a clergyman, he did not preach as much 
as he — he did something else — I cannot quite make 
it out. Let me examine further. He wrote books, I 
think. Was it so ? " 

" If he preached," said Israel evasively, u he would 
write manuscripts." 

" But I think they were more than sermons," she 
persisted ; n they look larger ; and then — I see — them 
afterwards like books. Will you please to tell me if I 
am all wrong ? " 

" Go on," said Israel smiling. 

"But it is better to be frank with me," said the- 
medium, appearing troubled. 

"All right, Mrs. Kennett," now interrupted Thom- 
aston. " Pray go on, and not mind his scepticism." 

" Your father now speaks," said the medium, " and 
his voice is a little peculiar. There is a slight imped- 
iment, I should think. He says this was the reason 
why he wrote more and spoke less in public. But I 
think he had a great influence over others while he 
lived — and — through his books, his influence con- 
tinues." 

"What is his message to me?" asked Israel. 

" He says — ' my dear son, you have been searching 
a long time. You are in a state Of —indecision about 



23O AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

— what is it? I cannot yet understand — a church — 
religion — some such thing as that, I believe.' " 

" Does he say that? " asked Israel, in a surprise which 
he could not conceal. 

"Yes. And he says that you are very dear to his 
heart. Your mother says that, too. She looks very 
happy. I think she was a very sweet person when in 
the form." 

M But about what I am searching for," said Israel ; 
" can he assist me? I should be intensely glad to have 
him tell me what is right for me to do?" 

" He says he can and does assist you. He has 
always helped you." 

u Will he tell me where I am to go for peace? " 

" He answers, f God is a spirit, and they that wor- 
ship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.' " 

"But how does that apply to me?" 

" He says, by the spirit operating upon your spirit. 
Every effect has its cause — many causes sometimes. 
You have to go through what you are now going 
through, in order to arrive at the result." 

Israel. " What will be the result? " 

Medium. "You will come to a more settled and 
peaceful state of mind. You will be happier than ever 
before. You will see things in a truer light, and your 
soul will expand under the influence of an enlarged 
sphere of truths." 

I. " Will he please to be more definite. What 
church had I better join?" 

M. " He says it is not permitted him to tell you. 
Whatever is for your good, he will freely impart ; but 
there are things which they must not divulge to those 



A SITTIXG WITH A SPIRITUAL MEDIUM. 23 1 

who are in the form, however much they are desired 
to do so by their beloved ones. He adds, ' I am no 
bigot, nor never was when in the form.' Other spirits 
now appear. I see a child about }'Ou — a little girl 
with fair hair like your father's, but eyes like your 
mother's. Had you a sister?" 

/. " No." 

M. " Perhaps it is one who is yet to come into the 
form. Or, it may *be one of the children of some of 
your friends. I think you are very fond of children.". 

Another pause. 

M. "Your mother says the child was one you 
knew where you boarded, when you was at school. 
You made a great pet of her, and she loved you very 
dearly. She died suddenly of croup or some difficulty 
of the throat." 

I. "There was such a child. Ask her name." 

M. "I hear, Kitty, Katie, and Caddie." 

7". (Much moved.) " Yes, I called her Kitty. 
Others called her the other names. What does she 
do now ? " 

M. "She says, 'I play now, but it is all more 
beautiful.' She says,* 'I also learn heavenly things. 
I am with my aunt, who died the year before I did. 
I am very happy. I have so much that is lovely ! I 
visit my dear mamma and papa very often.' " 

/. " Truly there must be something in this. You 
have given me so many tests, I begin to believe that 
my parents are here." 

M. " Your mother says, ' Believe, my dear son.' 
She lays her hand again on your head, and she weeps 
— weeps tears of joy." 



232 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

/. (In tears.) "Mother! dearest mother! if you 
are really here, give me some strong test." 

Another pause. 

M. "Sometime ago you went to a place where all 
the people sat very still. No one spoke a word. It 
was on a Sunday. I think it was a meeting of some 
kind. You saw a young girl over across from where 
you sat." 

/. (Starting.) "Possible! that she tells you this ! 
Some one must have informed you." 

M. " You forget, sir, that I never saw nor heard 
of you, before this evening." 

I. " What of this young girl? Go on. I am eager 
to hear." 

M. " She wore a very plain bonnet and shawl. 
She was pretty and intelligent looking. I think she is 
your kindred spirit." 

/. "My kindred spirit ! Ask my mother what she 
means?" 

M. " She says you will marry sometime — rather 
soon, I think." 

I. "Indeed! how soon?" 

M. " Time is nothing in the other life. I cannot 
tell you. Sometimes they mean quite soon, as we 
understand it ; again they do not. Their ideas of time 
are different from ours." 

I. " Am I to marry that girl? " 

M. " She replies that all are free. There is no 
rigid and immutable law of control. Yet there is a 
way which one cannot escape. It is not to be ex- 
plained." 

/. "But will she answer me, directly, the ques- 
tion?" 



A SITTING WITH A SPIRITUAL MEDIUM. 233 

M. " I will see, and tell you all I am permitted to. 
Perhaps she will tell me, and perhaps not. They tell 
only what is for our good to know. (After a pause.) 
She says, ' I think that you' will take her for your wife. 
I think she is the complement of your being.' " 

/. "Does she advise me to do this? Is the lady 
one whom she would have loved if she had lived ? " 

M. "She says 'No one is perfect. You must not 
look for perfection, my son.' These are her words. 
But be thankful that your lot is as good as it is." 

I. "Will she tell me her name?" 

M. " I hear the name of Mary, also Charlotte. 
But Mary I hear most. Perhaps it is Mary Charlotte." 

I. "Ask if she-is interested in me." 

M. " She says that she is. She thinks of you 
much of the time, and has even taken pains to find 
you out." 

/. " How shall I proceed to make her acquaint- 
ance?" 

M. " She says ' I cannot tell you now. There will 
be a way.' We see results without understanding all 
the connection. But another spirit has now come. 
He seems anxious to speak to you." 

I. "What is he like?" 

M. "He is tall, very grave-looking, and is black 
on one side of his face, as if he had been bruised 
severely." 

Both Thomaston and Israel started. They recalled 
their friend who had died under the same roof, some 
time before, and with whom Thomaston said he had 
conversed a few evenings since. 

/. " Ask his name, if you please." 



234 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

M. " He says you know who he is. He calls him- 
self an old friend who sat around the same board some 
time before he passed out of the body. He is very 
glad to have a chance to talk with you." 

/. " Ask him if he is happy." 

M* " He says, ' I am happier than I was on earth, 
but not so happy as I shall be when I have progressed 
to a higher group.' " 

/. Does he believe, on religious subjects, as he did 
when on earth ? " 

M. "Not altogether. He was much deceived here 
about some things." 

I. " May I ask what are those things to which he 
refers ? " 

M. "He says you will remember that he had a 
great reverence for the Bible ; the same as you, your- 
self, now have." 

/. (Much startled.) "Well; has he not a rever- 
ence for the Bible now ? " 

M. "He has now a reverence for all good books. 
Not one is free from erroneous views. Not one is 
absolute and infallible as a standard of perfect thought." 

7". " What ! not the Word of God, the Holy Scrip- 
ture, written by inspiration ! " 

M. "That, he says, is by no means perfect. It 
was written by men no more inspired than Confucius, 
or Seneca, or Thomas Paine. Your blind adoration 
for the Bible — these are his words — leads you into 
many false ideas and devious paths. It makes you 
unhappy when you ought to rejoice in the God who 
has made the beautiful world and all things therein. 
I should think by his manner that he was very positive in 



A SITTING WITH A SPIRITUAL MEDIUM. 235 

his opinions when in the form. He gesticulates pecu- 
liarly, extending his forefinger, and then striking the 
other hand, ending with a motion like this." (She 
imitates him, and Thomaston and Israel both smile as 
they identify the peculiarity of their old friend.) 

/. "I am much surprised at this. Will he speak 
to me further respecting his views of religious truth? 
I am anxious to know what is the true doctrine." 

M. "Yes, he says you are; he says, look into 
your own heart and the great, beautiful book of 
Nature. Talk, also, with those who have progressed 
in a knowledge of true Spiritual philosophy. Fre- 
quent Spiritual circles. Deliver your mind from the 
iron shackles — of — of old prejudices. You will then 
see clearer, know more perfectly, and enjoy much." 

Not long after this, the medium announced, — " The 
state is passing off me. You must hasten, if you have 
more to say this evening. The spirits are going to 
leave me." 

/. "My dear father and mother! What shall I 
do to please you most?" 

M. " They both place their hands upon your head, 
and they engage in prayer. Now they both stoop 
over you, and imprint a kiss on your brow. They 
say, k Dear son ! come often and talk with us. Live 
up to the higher life. Be hopeful. Be happy. We 
are ever near you. We often elevate your spirit 
when you are depressed. We smooth your pillow by 
night, and waken you in the morning. Never feel 
that you are alone. Good night.' They move away. 
I am going to come out of it." 

The medium now rubbed her eyes, gave a few deep 



236 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

sighs, and a slight start, then slowly opened her eyes 
as if waking up from sleep, and looking vaguely at 
Israel, asked : "Have you had a pleasant sitting?" 

" I have, madam, thanks to your skill," answered 
Israel, while he threw down twice the customary fee 
upon her table. 

"I hope to see you again — thank you," she said, in 
a very low voice. 

" We shall be sure to come," said Thomaston. 



MORE ADVICE. 237 



CHAPTE R II 



MORE ADVICE. 



"It is very strange," said Israel to his friend Thom- 
aston, on their departure from the medium, "very 
strange indeed. All she told of my father and mother, 
so far as I know, was perfectly true. I have often 
looked at the small scar on my mother's forehead 
in her picture ; and as she buried her father a few 
months before her death, undoubtedly she dressed in 
mourning." 

" It was also true about our friend who has lately 
died," said Thomaston. "They do tell many remark- 
able things. How can you help believing? " 

"I do not know," answered Israel, thoughtfully. 

" If you require further investigation," said Thom- 
aston, " I have books and papers which I will lend 
you." 

" I shall be glad to read them," Israel replied. 

The following day, Thomaston brought Israel sev- 
eral copies of a noted Spiritual newspaper, which 
Israel examined with great interest and with much 
care. He came to the following conclusions, viz : 

" That the aim of Spiritualism is to destroy all respect 
for the Bible, or, that no more should be held for it 
than would be for any other book of its age, and 



238 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

less than should be for the writings of ' Apostles of 
Liberty.' 

"To annihilate the divine mission of Jesus Christ, 
and rank him below any other prominent man who 
has influenced the minds of men for good. 

"To pull down all the religious faith of evangelical 
Christendom, and on its ruins erect a temple of Spirit- 
ualism which shall reach the heavens, and by which 
men may constantly unveil mysteries of far more value 
to mankind than the most sacred annunciations of 
God's revealed Word." 

The arguments were nothing more nor less than 
what he had read in the books of all the celebrated 
infidel writers. They were old acquaintances in new 
dress. They neither astonished nor angered him ; for 
his astonishment and anger had both spent themselves 
long ago over the pages which he had read. Mean- 
time he constantly prayed to God for wisdom and 
right discernment. He was greatly strengthened when 
he read such words as these, found in 2 Thess. Chap. 2 : 
" That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, 
neither by spirit nor by word, nor by letter as from 
us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no 
man deceive you by any means : for that day shall 
not come, except there come a falling away first, and 
that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition ; who 
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called 
God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as God sitteth 
in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 
* * * For the mystery of iniquity doth already 
work : only he who now letteth will let, until he be 
taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be 



MORE ADVICE. 239 

revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit 
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of 
his coming. Even him, whose coming is after the 
working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and 
lying wonders, etc. * * And for this cause God 
shall send them strong delusion, that they should 
believe a lie." 

As was his habit, he wrote to him who had been 
his guardian, (for Israel had now more than attained 
his majority,) and received this reply : — 

" My Dear Old Fellow : 

" Be assured that Spiritualism, so called, is nothing 
new. It had not its date with the Fox girls of 
Rochester. It astonishes the ignorant who have not 
read the history of the world, but disturbs not one jot 
nor one tittle the equanimity of those who are in any 
wise posted in the affairs of Satan's kingdom. The 
same old adversary who told our grandparents in 
Eden, 4 Ye shall not surely die. What ! will you make 
fools of yourselves in minding the law of God, when 
by breaking it ye can become as gods, knowing good 
and evil, without any help from your Creator ! ' is, and 
has ever been, busy at his tricks in beguiling unstable 
souls. 

"In all ages of the world there is a record of the 
devil's mission. He succeeds often, but his work does 
not stand through the years and cycles. His track is 
sin, which covers remorse, desolation, and broken 
idols. These ruins are ' ivied o'er ' with the attractive 
rhetoric of flowers, purling streams, diamonds, and 
whispering leaves." 



24O AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

(Israel here remembered having read in one of the 
spiritual newspapers this sentence : " Therefore it 
[the Bible] is to us no authority and no absolute guide 
in matters of faith or practice. Reason is the soul's 
guiding star, and nature the soul's commentary. O, 
nature, accept us as thy disciple ! We love thy inspi- 
ration, thy freedom, thy flowers, thy fruits, those voice- 
less orbs that look down so calmly in the night time ; 
those rich, roseate sunsets, suggesting visions of magic 
lands and spirit-homes floating in space, all radiant 
with crimson and purple and gold, and those still 
summer nights, too, when the heavens kiss the oceans, 
and dancing fire-flies illume woods and fields, en- 
zoning the earth, as it were, in a mantle of stars. O, 
nature, we are thine ; thou art ours forever ! " ) 

" Beautiful nature ! Glorious nature ! is the harp, 
on which he causes his votaries to play tunes of adora- 
tion to himself. Beautiful human nature is the organ- 
swell of the great diatessaron of infernal harmonies ! 
Anything, everything to break down Christian faith 
and pull up the old land-marks of Christianity. Ac- 
cording to prophecy, many, even choice Christians, will 
be deceived and led away into the mazes of error and 
sin. There will be just so much done in the world. 
But remember, Israel, you are free — free to choose 
or refuse. Remember that he that endureth to the 
end has the promise of salvation. ' To him that over- 
cometh will I give a white stone, and in that stone a 
new name which no man knoweth save him that 
receiveth it.' 

u The magicians of Egypt imitated Moses very cleverly 
in his miracles, but there were some things which 



MORE ADVICE. 24 1 

they could not do. The magic Spiritualists imitate 
Christ and the Apostles, but there are things which 
they cannot do. Of these, they cannot raise the dead 
body, nor lay the devil that is in a man, both by nature 
and practice. Man, being made out of the breath of 
God, has a great many good things in him, both by 
heirdom and education ; but all these goods require 
evoking by a spirit as far above these cabalistic jug- 
glers as the heavens are above the earth. Satan being 
a rebel angel, knows how to put on the garments of 
light, and act almost to perfection. He does it in all 
manner of ways. It would take more books than all 
living men could write to describe the half of his 
works. No sentient being is free from his influence, 
through his myriad emissaries. But we are also free 
to choose the influence of our good angel. Resist the 
devil and he will flee from you. Avoid these ' teachers 
with itching ears,' of whom Paul wrote — ' And they 
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be 
turned unto fables.' 

"However, I do not censure your spirit of investiga- 
tion. It is natural that you should have a curiosity to 
open Pandora's box. Be not alarmed. This thing 
will waste and wear itself out in due time. The more 
it is opposed, the better will it thrive. People who 
go to them for bread and get a stone of falsehood, 
will amuse themselves a little while by makinga' stone- 
broth ;' but the dish will not digest. The stone does 
not become bread. The lie does not prove true. The 
shadows of future events vanish in the dust. The 
false gods do not save in sickness, calamity, and 
death. 

16 



242 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

" Finally, my young brother, be steadfast, immovable, 
always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch 
as your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 
Yours, faithfully, 

Ephraim Stearns." 



TALK WITH A SPIRITUALIST. 243 



CHAPTER III. 

TALK WITH A SPIRITUALIST. 

Israel showed the letter of his former guardian to 
Thomaston, who read it with a look which signified 
half compassion, half contempt. 

" The old gentleman," said he, indifferently, " has 
not kept pace with the progress of the enlightened 
world. The sense he has is not ventilated in God's 
free air. His ideas of the devil are worthy of the 
Salem witchcraft. They make me think of the girl 
in France whose case is detailed by Dr. Picknell. 
She, by an old woman's advice, drank water saturated 
with the earth of two priests' graves, believing thereby 
to insure to herself a great spiritual reward. She got 
only the larvae of beetles, and twelve days after, a green 
insect flew out of her mouth." 

"You talk like a man of charity, a many-sided 
mind, delivered from the self-hood or the Ichkeit, as 
the Germans call it," said Israel. 

" But I cannot help commiserating such ignorance," 
responded Thomaston, "whether it appears in an old 
man or a young girl." 

"This man whom you despise," said Israel, "has 
the works of all the German and French rationalists, 
the English infidels, and the American transcenden- 



244 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

talists in his library. He is as familiar with them as 
with — ■ I was about to say his Bible. He reads easily 
and speaks fluently the ancient and modern languages. 
With several eminent Germans he has sat under their 
vine and fig-tree, and held long discourse upon the 
subjects on which they have treated in their books. I 
think that we, who have hardly shaken the dews of 
college walls from our sapling branches, can ill afford 
to rattle defiance at the ignorance of the sturdy old oak 
with an experience gathered from the centuries." 

"I beg pardon of the venerable shade, but I hope 
he will remember that the world revolves on its axis, 
even though he survives all change and chance in 
unparalleled dignity," retorted Thomaston ; "I believe 
what our American philosopher says : ' Wherever a 
man comes there comes revolution. The old is for 
slaves.' " 

" Truth is eternal," answered Israel ; " hence as good 
at the beginning as at the end. Truth is God. He 
is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. The old 
ex cathedra uttered to the first family-child : ' If thou 
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou 
doest not well, sin lieth at the door,' is just as plain 
and true to-day as it was then. Cain was one of your 
men. He thought for himself, independent of God. 
He was jealous of Abel, whose sacrifice found more 
favor than his own. He did not see any use in atoning 
blood, when the earth was full of inexhaustible re- 
sources for 'self-adjustment,' which he could secure by 
his own hand. Then came a revolution. He struck 
Abel out of sight. This man thought his brother's 
work meet for slaves, not for himself. He made a 



TALK WITH A SPIRITUALIST. 245 

mistake. The revolution was in himself; not in the 
earth, nor in the Everlasting God. The blood of his 
brother cried from the very ground beneath him. As 
well might he have made a shield and carried it 
between him and the morning star, announcing after- 
wards that such star was no more. How petty is 
such a design ! how infinitely small its attempt at 
execution ! As though a man could strike out Christ 
and his revealed word ! " 

" Such talk is but fustian — mere rant," said Thom- 
aston. 

"Perhaps it is," answered Israel calmly ; "but my 
theme is worthy of a better advocate, and yet it has no 
need of any human voice to be uplifted in its behalf. 
Perfect in itself, it requires no imperfection to consum- 
mate its mission. But setting aside all abstract argu- 
ment, let us look at the practical bearings of the two 
schemes — the Gospel plan and the self-hood ; the 
Christ and the Man. What countries have been civil- 
ized, what neighborhoods elevated, blessed and truly 
enriched, or what poor, down-trodden heart perma- 
nently refreshed and comforted by such words as have 
been left on record by Bahrdt, Loeffler, Lessing, Rei- 
marus, Paulus, Strauss, Renan, Herbert, Collins, 
Tindal, Blount, Shaftesbury, Voltaire, and Paine? 
Souls have been made giddy with a presentiment of 
emancipation from the old. They have been stultified 
with their own divine. They have dreamed of drink- 
ing the nectar of Olympus from the muddy ponds of 
their own hearts. They have grasped diamonds in 
fire-flies, and seen angels in rotten wood. They have 
lived charmed lives. But which of them all has died 



246 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

a charmed death? Which of them all, in the face of 
the inevitable event which was about to carry them 
into the visible presence of the great God, could rap- 
turously say, with the apostle, c For I am now ready 
to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up 
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
righteous Judge, shall give me at that day ; and not to 
me only, but unto all them also that love his appear- 
ing'?" 

" But what has all this to do with modern Spiritual- 
ism ?" asked Thomaston, after an embarrassing pause. 

"Very much," answered Israel; "from what I 
gather out of the papers and books which I have had 
from you, upon this subject, I understand that this 
thing, Spiritualism, is only a new phase or demon- 
stration of an infidelity which has run through all the 
ages since the beginning ; nature and the self-hood 
against the law and God — against revelation and the 
Christ. These new supernatural sights and sounds 
are only a recasting of the old characters, and a re- 
vamping of the old stage-machinery. Every quarter 
of an age must have its spiritual sensation." 

"That is to say, you think it all trick and humbug 
— of a piece with the Salem witchcraft?" pursued 
Thomaston. 

"By no means. The trick and humbug are not 
with the machinery, (that works fairly in most cases ; 
no doubt there are some counterfeits,) but they belong 
to the underlying principle from which this operation 
springs — the invisible law. Neither was the Salem 



TALK WITH A SPIRITUALIST. 247 

demonstration a pure humbug, nor yet have been the 
sorcery and magic, and the thousand pronounced 
demonstrations which work under this system of 
causes that encloses the scheme whose name is a lie ! 
These are the principalities and powers, the rulers of 
the darkness of this world. And we need the whole 
armor of God to withstand them, — the most valuable 
piece of which is faith." 

"Yes," said Thomaston, ironically, "I think it is. 
But why not have more faith in Spiritualism? You 
admitted that you knew what Mrs Kennet said to you 
was true." 

" Only in regard to certain alleged appearances. 
There was just enough light borrowed to make the 
darkness more visible." 

" How can you prove that? " 

" I have not told you my experience about the 
1 kindred spirit ' revealed to me by the medium greatly 
to my surprise and satisfaction ? " 

"No! How was it?" 

" On a Sunday after that, I obtained the company 
of one of my friends who knows the people where the 
girl appears at meeting, — ' the girl with the plain 
bonnet and shawl,' whom I recognized as soon as the 
medium described her, as one I had once seen about a 
year since, — and together we went to* that place, I for 
the second time. I wished, if possible, to get my friend 
to identify her and inform me who she was, for I did not 
even know her name. What was my delight to find 
that the lady was the happy wife of a man, who, with 
herself, was well known to my friend ! Thus ended 
the ' spiritualistic ' shadow of my kindred spirit, desig- 



248 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

nated by the care of my sainted mother ! The fault was 
not in the saint. It was in the sin and its author ! " 

"But they certainly tell many wonderful truths," 
persisted Thomaston. 

"And as certainly tell many falsehoods, as every one 
who has ever dealt largely with this thing knows full 
well. The poor mediums, who are often innocent and 
well-meaning, make good cat's-paws for the arch 
enemy." 

"You think he has horns and cloven feet, I suppose ! 
No wonder you believe so much ! " laughed Thom- 
aston. 

" When I speak of a person or one being under the 
designation of the arch enemy, I refer to evil and its 
angels, who were once men like us. These are the 
opposites of God and the good angels, who also 
were men." 

" Why may not these good angels talk to us through 
mediums." 

"It is not for me to say that they cannot. But I 
would as soon listen for them on my own pillow in 
the night hours, as at the speech of a medium. 
Sooner far would I watch for them in the province of 
my common life. For the food of my soul, my daily 
bread is all I need ask of the good Father, and not 
miraculous quaihs." 

"Well ; every one to his taste ; chacun a son gout" 
responded Thomaston. 

" Be careful that you do not taste the meat which 
will not keep and stand the test of time." 

" Ah ! it is not us, free-thinkers, who have to do 
with the ages. The now is all in all, to us. What 



TALK WITH A SPIRITUALIST. 249 

a man is, abides with us forever," exclaimed Thom- 
aston triumphantly; "the present of the human soul 
is the acorn in which are folded the gloriously infinite 
possibilities of the Divine Eternal." 

" Thus saith the Lord : 'I am the Lord, and there 
is none else, there is no God beside me : I girded thee, 
though thou hast not known me? He girds you with 
all the strength you have, whether you know him or 
not. Who can contemplate a more sublime spectacle 
than that of the Lord girding His creatures with the 
strength which they use in their attempts to rebel 
against His law? Truly He is good, and His mercy 
endureth forever ! " exclaimed Israel. 

"We know and acknowledge God sooner than we 
do his ' professed ' children, — the elect of his love. 
We believe that all are his children, and may hold 
communication with Him. Not ever are we talking 
about Him, but our life is surrounded and lost in 
Him. I have a young brother — the delight of all our 
hearts. Our love is repaid in love. He lives in us, 
but he is unconscious of it to any pronounced stand- 
ard," said Thomaston. 

" That beloved brother," continued Israel, " fur- 
nishes me a test question in point. If you knew that 
he must be left alone in the world, would you not 
place him in the care of a truly Christian man, instead 
of one who may be called an infidel Spiritualist — a 
disbeliever of the Bible?" 

" It would depend on the man," answered Thom- 
aston ; " not on his external opinions." 

" But the man and his opinions are identical, in a 
free land like ours," said Israel. 



250 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

" Some of our most remarkable free-thinkers have 
been gracious to all young people, kind and benevo- 
lent to the neighbor, and as true souled in all points 
of honor and righfas man ever was," said Thomaston. 
" And I need not remind you of the difference in this 
respect between them and what are called ministers 
of the Gospel," he continued. " I know of orthodox 
pastors who scarcely nod at the young people of re- 
spectable families in their parish, from year to year. 
They seem to think that all attention to such members 
of their flock will subtract from their elect, priestly 
superiority. Such young people go out into the world 
for themselves, and finding that those whom they have 
been taught to class with the ' son of perdition ' are 
kind, tender-hearted, sympathetic, the springs of their 
love out-flowing, they naturally turn to them and 
finally become their disciples. No wonder that these 
priestly autocrats find comfort and refreshment in the 
doctrine of sovereign decrees, election, and reproba- 
tion ! " 

"I know also," he continued, " men first and fore- 
most in these orthodox churches, who are more dan- 
gerous in business than common burglars, because, 
forsooth, their work is not one for which we can obtain 
redress in case of detection. Their strength is to 
cheat ; their play to make long prayers, which are as 
tasteless ' as the white of an egg.* The sins of these 
men go beforehand unto judgment, for they are in 
the mouths of everybody but their fellows in the 
church. Think you I should prefer to place a young 
and innocent child in such an earth-sphere as that?" 

"In all ages," replied Israel, "there have been 



TALK WITH A SPIRITUALIST. 25 1 

hypocrites. Our Saviour denounced them in the 
strongest terms. Were there no genuine disciples, 
there would be no counterfeit. But surely you will 
not deny that there are good pastors and good people 
in the Christian churches. These are the salt of the 
earth." 

" Said I not, it depended on the man and not his 
opinions? But that was not all of the matter. I 
mean that a good man will have a good rule of action 
underlying all his motives, whether among one people 
or another ; and the same of the bad. But such opin- 
ions as are taught by these churches are most dangerous 
and destructive of good. Were not men who are not 
sacrificed to the spirit of their doctrines very good by 
nature, and were it not for the restraints of society, 
they would be ruined by them." 

" Let us remember," said Israel, " that the greatest 
of all virtues is charity." 

"It says also, 'they that fear the Lord hate evil/ 
and a curse is pronounced upon ' him that justifieth 
the ungodly,' " Thomaston quickly interposed. 

" But we must forgive those who trespass against 
us, if we wish to be forgiven. We must be more 
quick to see the good . than the evil. We must be 
mindful that not one of us is without sin. It makes 
a man unhappy and unhealthy to harbor censorious 
thoughts of others," said Israel. 

" True ; and allow me to remind you of all these 
good words of yours, when you sit in judgment on the 
Spiritualist-infidel or the Neo-Spiritualist. They are 
not without their good points as well as those which 
you may think are evil. I quite consent to the propo- 



252 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

sition that the greatest of all spiritual gifts is love. 
And with it in the ascendant in your mind, you will 
oblige me by stating your idea of the origin and nature 
of what are called Spiritual manifestations — that is, 
more definitely than you have yet done. For when 
you set them down to the score of the devil, you talk 
as intelligently as do the Turks, who say that their 
most exalted pachas are the pachas with three tails." 

"I think that His Darkness works often in this 
thing by means of animal magnetism and electro- 
dynamics. By eliminating common sense, the exper- 
iment is a success," said Israel. 

" But the devil would not require to call in such 
aid," said the Spiritualist. 

" I do not give him the credit of omniscience. He 
is not greater than God, who works by means," an- 
swered Israel. 

" There is no use in reasoning with one who has no 
reasonable basis," said Thomaston., impatiently. 

" I trust I am not so prejudiced as to be unwilling 
to listen to what is really reasonable," returned Israel. 

" Then," said Thomaston, " consent to accompany 
me to-morrow evening, to hear the noted Spiritualist 
speaker, Denatra, who speaks in Granby Hall." 

Israel assented. 



A SPIRITUAL TRAJECTORY. 253 



CHAPTER IV. 

A SPIRITUAL TRAJECTORY. 

Thomaston was prevented from attending the 
meeting designated, and Israel went without him. 
The next day they met, and thus discoursed : — 

Thomaston. " So you had the rare privilege of 
listening to our great apostle, last evening? " 

Israel. " I heard him." 

T. " Distil some of the dew of his lips upon me, 
if you please." 

/. " Rather some of the poison from under his 
serpent-tongue." 

T. " Thou unbeliever in all that is high and beau- 
tiful ! " 

I. " He said what I could not have believed pos- 
sible for a man in any reputable place of this land to 
dare utter." 

T. " Dare ! Indeed, a great, true soul will dare 
even death for truth's sake." 

I. "I would dare death, I think, sooner than the 
responsibility of his words." 

T. "Why did you not cry out and shout 'Amen,' 
thou inhabitant of Zion ? " 

/. " It would have been Jonah's cry." 

T. " When he entered the golden gate of heaven ? " 



254 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

I. "No ; when in the recesses of the hell he pic- 
tures. Like the expatriated prophet, I was stifled, 
suffocated ; and had I not soon escaped, would have 
cut my throat with a file." 

T. " What heard you so disturbing?" 

I. " After aiming the usual shafts against Christ, 
the Bible, and God himself, he was particularly 
eloquent in irony of prayer, — that divinest privilege 
of the soul, — against remorse or consciousness of sin, 
and finally against law. In this latter division of his 
theme, the man with" his unhallowed lips dared to 
talk of woman and her rights." 

T. " Good ; that is what people of your set do 
every day with impunity, — and not only men, but 
women. I hope you are sufficiently gallant to be 
willing to accord to the sex those rights which many 
now claim?" 

I. " Yes, when they claim to be women." 

T. " You could not but like our true spiritual idea 
of woman's sphere, if you only understood it." 

Israel now arose and began to walk the room in 
silence. At last, striking his forehead with his hand, 
he exclaimed, " Thou God of my mother ! thou know- 
est I should fall dead under the axe of self-torture, were 
I to mistakenly link myself to one of these women who 
accepted this ' doctrine of devils ! ' " 

T. " Would you not tolerate the right of ballot in 
your wife — that privilege now clamorously claimed ? " 

I. "I believe that a man in all ways should shield 
the companion of his life, with a sacred consciousness 
of his heaven-delegated right so to do, unutterably 
tender, yet with a fidelity to judicious purpose, which 



A SPIRITUAL TRAJECTORY. 255 

should be a quality of the ' sterner stuff' of his make. 
Whoso professes this, and through wilful negligence 
comes short, let him be anathema (I speak ex cathedra.} 
Grave yet sweet should be his recognition of her paral- 
lel existence. The picture to him will be the haloed 
Christ knocking at the door of his heart. The fact, a 
divine gift approaching his approach of providential 
circumstance. His compassion for this woman's faults 
will be unqualified with the hauteur of self-poise ; his 
faithfulness to her needs bounded by a manly scope. 

" But to marry a woman," continued Israel, u who 
"asserts her right to go to the ballot ; to think for me ; 
to lead battles like Semiramis on an elephant, though 
of words ; to allow herself and her good works, what- 
ever they are, to be trumpeted about the world ; and 
to go up and down seeking what conquests she can 
acquire, — would be, in short, like the attempt to 
make a bosom friend of the statue of Minerva in a 
public square." 

T. " But what remains to do ! The women are' 
rushing that way. Much learning doth make them 
mad." 

/. "I cannot accept your universal sweep. If it 
was so, I, for one, .would put forth my utmost exertion 
to form a new society called the Young Men's Inde- 
pendent Union. The principal article of its constitu-. 
tion shall read — We, the undersigned, do solemnly 
pledge our -selves not to knowingly marry a woman 
who is a modem Spiritualist, or who clai?ns the right 
of elective franchise, or who believes- in exhibiting 
herself to the public as a speaker or writer" 



256 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

T. " Ha ! Now you are forever lost in the regards 
of great souls ! All the blue-stockings and their 
doughty esquires will be pelting your devoted head 
with their brickbat arguments, till you will not know 
your right hand from your left. It is woman's priv- 
ilege to scold with tongue and pen, and at present she 
seems fully disposed to live up to it." 

I. " Very well ; there is one staff yet in our hands ; 
nay, two staves. They cannot make us love nor wed 
them." 

T. " As though they desired to ! It is amusing to 
contemplate the amount of conceit which a man like 
you can carry about him ! A lady Spiritualist would 
scorn your ghost ; a voting lady would scarcely deign 
to extinguish you with the power of her ballot ; and 
an authoress or speakeress would draw away her royal 
robe from the slightest contact with your ignoble 
presence. "" 

I. " Remember, however, that I make a sharply 
defined distinction between the classes indicated. Not 
all lady writers or speakers are Spiritualists or would- 
be voters." 

T. " You would not mind breaking your staff or 
staves in defence of the one class upon an emergency, 
I conclude, when the Spiritualists would have to suffer 
drowning because you declined an introduction for 
their rescue." 

I. "I borrow the name of my staves from Holy 
Writ — Beauty and Bands. The Spiritualists do not 
recognize the Bible, consequently they would not me 
nor my staves." 

T. " The classification of those ladies and you 



A SPIRITUAL TRAJECTORY. 257 

should be rather Beauty and the Beast. I pity the 
woman whom you shall vouchsafe to endow with 
yourself." 

/. " Possibly your emotion would be wasted." 
(Smiling). 

T. "I am proud and happy to say that my wife 
shall be free — free as a butterfly among the flowers 
of a garden — free to think, to speak, to act. She 
shall vote, if she likes. She shall live and die with- 
out being fretted with my petty chains. 

I. " Provided you find her. But it is one thing to 
talk of freedom — another to live in that state." 

"Who talks here of freedom?" now interrupted a 
loud, hearty voice ; " and what is the burden of this 
valley of vision?" 

Israel recognized a man who, a few days before, 
had been announced to him as Captain Brewster. He 
had once followed the seas, but was now a retired 
gentleman, living upon his fortune. 

" Pray, sir," said Thomaston, rising, hat in hand,, 
"whose dog are you?" 

"I wear no collar around my neck. I belong to 
the great universal family of man. God is my father. 
No man is my master. All men are my brothers for 
time and eternity. We shall all make one port at 
last." 

" We have been talking upon religion in its various 
moral and social relations pertaining to our fellow 
men and women," said Thomaston ; "will you join us 
and classify yourself ? " 

" I glory in my name — a Bible Universalist," said 
the captain. 

17 



258 AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS. 

" In some things we agree ; in others, not. But 
both of us, I am sure, deny the existence of that 
imputed relative, Old Nick, who came from the north- 
ern sea-god Nicken ; and we affirm, by paronomasia, 
that men are not fiends but friends, and that God is 
but another name for Good ; hence his attributes must 
be all summed up in Love ! " continued Thomaston. 

" It is a pity that our young friend, Mr. Knight, 
(turning towards Israel,) is not more perfectly in- 
structed in the way of God. He seems well-disposed, 
but—" 

" Dreadfully be-knight-ed," added Thomaston ; " sup- 
pose, captain, that you take him under your tuition 
awhile. I have been too clumsy, I think, to hammer 
his mind into the shape of a good horseshoe that will 
effectually keep off the devil." 

" Most willingly, if by his own free act and deed," 
answered the captain. 

" I have no objection to investigation," said Israel. 

"Then hold yourself in readiness to go to my meet- 
ing next Sunday," said the captain. 

" Certain I am," said Israel, " that I have not yet 
found the City." 

" What city?" asked the captain. 

" That with the precious name of which mention is 
made in the Bible as ' The Lord is there.' " 

" We know that we have that name, for truly God 
is with us," said the Universalist. 



AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS 



CHAPTER I. 

THE UNIVERSALIST SERMON. 

The following Sunday, Israel was on his way with 
Capt. Brewster to attend the Universalist meeting. 
Another gentleman, who, though not of this faith, 
sometimes went to this church, accompanied them. 
His name was Ackerman. 

This man said: "I can tell what 'our text' will 
prove this morning ; at least, I should not be afraid to 
lay a heavy wager that it will be one of twelve verses, 
which twelve are headed off with, ' For as in Adam 
all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.' 
Then comes, ' That in the dispensation of the fulness, 
of times, he might gather together in one all things 
in Christ ; ' next ' Who will have all men to be saved, 
and to come under the knowledge of the truth ; ' 
' God shall wipe away all tears from off their faces/ 
and — " 

"You forget," here interrupted Capt. Brewster, 
" that we now have a new minister. He is peculiar 
in treating old truths in a new way." 

" Out of the Bible?" asked Ackerman. 

"Yes," answered the captain, "our preacher is a 
Bible Christian, I am proud to say. He does not 
belong to the left wing of Universalism." 
259 



260 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

"Then you acknowledge two wings to your denom- 
ination ? " said Israel. 

" Certainly ; our people, like all others in Christen- 
dom, have their Cagots," he said, good-humoredly. 

"What is that?" asked Israel ; "I do not compre- 
hend." 

"When I was in the south of France, I found a race 
of people who wore an egg-shell on their clothes, by 
way of distinction. I asked what it meant, and was 
told that it was a sign by which to know who were 
Cagots. In former ages they had been shunned as 
lepers ; then it had got down to only an egg-shell." 

" I have heard of its all lying in a nut-shell," said 
Ackerman. 

" The difference," said the captain, " is as small as 
that, to appearance ; but after all, they have the taint 
in the blood. There are those who cannot think as we 
do, in all points. It isn't in them." 

" What is the difference at last? " asked Israel. 

"Finally, none at all. He will reign till He has 
subdued all things. There are first and second fruits," 
answered the captain. 

"You were not brought up a Universalist," here 
remarked Israel. 

"How do you think that?" asked the captain. 

" Because I know it must be so. You have the 
language of the mixed nation. Your parents, or guar- 
dians, or tutors, whoever they were that had your first 
years in training, were either Congregationalists or 
Baptists. By nature, you are what you are, which is 
not what you were by education." 

" Guessed right, messmate. My father and mother 



THE UNTVERSALIST SERMON. 26 1 

were Baptists — real hard-shells. They doubted the 
salvation which is not got out of the water. I expect 
that was one reason why I took to the sea." 

They were now at the church. Israel noticed that 
the comers were in excellent spirits, to appearance. 
Every man greeted his neighbor, and all knew each 
other, from the least to the greatest. The ladies wore 
many bright colors, which generally were arranged 
with more reference to show than elegance. They 
greeted each other with voices which indicated a sub- 
stantial breakfast, and he missed the subdued mouse of 
superior refinement running along their tones. Nothing 
was constrained, measured, fastened. On everything 
seemed written: "All things are yours, and ye are 
Christ's, and Christ is God's.' 

They found their seats, as they would at a lecture 
on secular occasions ; and one or two elderly men took 
out a political newspaper and read till the minister 
ascended the pulpit steps. 

The minister was an intellectual looking man, 
Evidently he spent more hours in his library than in 
visiting or fishing. He had the cast of him who 
fashions his own mallet with which to beat the oil for 
the sanctuary. His commentator was not Hosea Bal- 
lou, nor Walter Balfour, nor Paige, but rather his own 
reflection. 

His prayer was moderate in length and devout in 
spirit, offering all in the name of " the Great Mediator 
and the Adorable Saviour of all mankind." His text 
was not one of Ackerman's twelve standards. It was, 
" I press toward the mark for the prize of the high 
calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3 : 14.) Also 



262 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

this : " And he said, of a truth I say unto you, that 
this poor widow hath cast in more than they all." 
(Luke 21 : 3.) From these words he derived his 
theme of Prizes ; the prize of the high calling and 
the prize of the low calling. 

Israel made notes, which ran like this : — 

"When men, like the ancient Greeks, went to the 
great national festivals with a spike of hyacinth blos- 
soms at their ears, it was fitting that those festivals 
should award prizes. The old Alcibiades' shoes looked 
well stamping applause at the announcement of a 
favorite winner. The Grecian youth who delighted 
in his dancing dog, and the leading choragi in a robe 
of gold-colored silk, were at home in the work of 
struggling for prizes. 

" The Christian teacher whose God was a wrathful 
Jupiter, dispensing smiles and frowns upon a system 
of debt and credit, rewards and punishments, found 
the scheme of visible prizes, both in this world and 
the next, serviceable to illustrate his heathen idea. It 
was a grand goad whereby people were driven to 
build up enormous denominational pyramids, — or 
monuments in which was the dead body of their king, 
an old defunct Idea. It was the part of a truly 
enlightened Christian to teach people another inter- 
pretation of the words of the text. 

" That ambition was natural to the human soul, no 
observer, philosophical or common, could deny. You 
could not eradicate it — root it out. If you succeeded 
in crushing it down beyond the plane of activity, the 
man was no more a man. He was demented, robbed 
of his mind, of himself. There was no use in calling 



THE UNIVERSALIST SERMON. 263 

ambition a sin. The sin was in its development, its 
aims. Ever}' sane man works for an end in view, a 
prize. The tendency of the age is to rapid extremes ; 
hence great strife for what is called great prizes. 

" The ambition of the people should be directed 
toward the prizes of the high calling. These were 
of the spirit, and not the matter ; the substance, and 
not the shadow. Goodness should be loved for itself, 
and not for its name and sound, however profitable. 
The prize it holds out is for the degree of this love, 
the manner whereof it is followed, the spirit in which 
it is taken up and appropriated to the faith and life. 
Hence Christ awarded the glory to the poor widow 
who had cast into the treasury her all, rather than to 
the rich who had given of their substance. 

"At present, the state of the public mind was 
unhealthy upon this subject ; it was not normal. 
False stimulants of all kinds were doing their per- 
nicious work in all grades of society and every scope 
of effort. The prize-fever upon the low calling gains- 
ground with every year ; and this not only in the lower, 
stories of life, among half-cultured races, whose blood 
and bone are made from the pabulum of sensations, 
but in the star-chambers of religion and learning. 

" Churches which claim perfection of creed and 
practice, churches which command all others to stand 
aside as less holy than themselves, which reckon 
themselves born under a covenant of Partial Grace 
while all outsiders are Pariahs to be stigmatized, 
prayed over and ground over, are now busiest of all 
in this unchristian and debasing work. So long as 
the business was confined to wrestling, rope-walking, 



264 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

foot-racing, and the like, in which those who strove 
for the mastery anointed with anserine oil before en- 
tering the lists, it had much less importance than now, 
when men with the odor of sanctity offer prizes for 
attainments in the curriculum, and also for the 
writing of tracts, pious tales in newspapers and in 
book form. 

" These children of the light are borrowing wisdom 
from those whom they are accustomed to call the evil 
generation. The tricks of the evil generation pay. 
They are like the Hospitallers of Jerusalem, who bound 
themselves to refrain from touching the filthy lucre of 
the infidels, but were afterwards found owning castles 
and towns, and governing territory after the fashion of 
the most earthy of princes. While these good knights 
in their long gowns were ever burning a light at night 
that they might be prepared for the enemy, a subtler 
foe stole in among them, and ere they were aware, 
their hearts' citadel was captured by that power which 
they had solemnly abjured. 

" In a catalogue of a New England college for this 
year, — a college wherein an avowed Universalist has 
no chance of the least degree of justice being given 
him, — you find, out of an attendance of less than 
two hundred and fifty students, thirty-six prizes are 
awarded. 

" It is said, for a single institution of learning to 
offer a few prizes, or for a student in his curriculum 
of four years to compete now and then for a prize, is 
an insignificant matter. Besides good accrues in 
various directions. 

"Nothing is insignificant which goes to makeup 



THE UNIVEftSA-LIST SERMON. 265 

one man. That one man will help make other men ; 
the men make community ; and then come results. 
Those results react upon the man, and act upon him 
who comes after. 

" A single polyp, building his little castle of calca- 
reous matter in the ocean, seems but a trifling affair. 
But other polyps build around him, until a tribe of 
zoophytes are at work on a structure which becomes a 
giant tree blooming with a thousand flower-architects. 
The unwarned ship comes that way, strikes what is 
now the coral reef, sinks, and is lost. The specimen 
prize often cited as a good, is but a part of a for- 
midable system, against which principle must be 
damaged, if not wholly lost. 

"The tendency of this system of getting young men 
forward on the scale of the low calling, of "which 
gambling is one of the series, is a development of the 
meanest class of moral qualities. The fiery brain of 
undisciplined youth is a good soil for these seeds of 
pride and envy to fructify therein and bear crops 
which shall curse themselves and others with a deadly 
poison. 

u An intense selflsm is the result of a S} T stem which 
secures the advancement of one individual to the 
deterioration of his fellows. 

" What is less like God than the proud conscious- 
ness of the acknowledged possession of that which 
gives the individual priority ! How does it violate 
the spirit of the divine command to love the Lord 
with all our heart and our neighbor as ourself ! also, 
that he that is greatest should be as a servant ! And yet it 
is entirely worthy of the doctrine which teaches that 



266 AMONG THE UNfVERSALISTS. 

God is a partial being, who punishes men to all eter- 
nity for — what? Not for ill-desert; for if so, then 
would their choicest members take an eternal prize of 
damnation for their deeds of injustice and wrong ; but 
it is because the innocent child of Adam does not 
believe as they do, — he does not look through their 
microscope at the infinitely glorious God and His 
plan of salvation ! 

"It is worthy of the doctrine which teaches men to 
pray for the children of ' believers,' and forgets or 
condemns the sons of those whom they think are in 
bonds of iniquity ; yet everybody has heard of the 
hopelessness of the ordinary run of orthodox ministers' 
sons and deacons' daughters. 

" Not only does this system of low prizes react 
unfavorably upon the spiritual and moral character, 
but upon the intellectual as well. The student who 
aims at the premium cannot afford to indulge in 
thorough and, comparatively speaking, exhaustive 
investigation. The rules of this race-course do not 
tolerate originality. There can be no independent 
thought nor deviating experiments — no divine silence 
of the mind, in which descend the inspirations of 
invisible teachers and the restful music of intermi- 
nable spheres. Original demonstrations which do not 
belong to the common proscribed track are counted 
an unsightly freak, to be cast aside, as the unlearned 
eye sees the growth of seeds on the back of certain 
leaves, when they are the perfect result of a perfect 
law — the epiphyllospermous. 

" The student may really know twice as much as 
another, of the spirit of a passage in the classics, or 



THE UXIVERSALIST SERMON. 267 

of the philosophy of a mathematical problem, and yet 
report himself so poorly as to take the lowest figure of 
the scale, while the other student seizes the words and 
the formula by the means of a parrot memory, and 
victoriously wins the prize. Hence, it so often occurs 
that prizes are unjustly awarded, and that these prize- 
students, in after life, make so poor a figure as practical 
and useful men. 

" Again, it often appears that one of these zealously 
affected toilers falls by the way before reaching the 
goal. His clergyman then says ' his bounds were 
set,' but his physician pronounces it a case of excessive 
excitement of the brain. For years before, his fond 
parents had been setting before him all sorts of false 
stimuli. He had been prize boy at the preparatory 
schools, and earlier, in the infant classes, a winner of 
numberless ' rewards of merit.' One of the signal 
triumphs of his early career was a prize in the Sunday 
school for repeating the greatest number of verses 
from the Bible and pious hymns. 

" The system of prizes on the low scale is aptly 
illustrated in various ways connected with popular 
life, but in none more forcibly than the regattas of the 
boatinsf clubs of colleges. Men who condemn horse- 
racing and betting will frequent this spectacle and 
show an interest worthy of a nobler race. Censors 
of the religious press who deftly peck away at the 
follies of the times, and particularly at those of other 
religious denominations, get complaisant over these 
fashionable water gambling arenas, and are profoundly 
silent about the ' little peccadilloes ' which transpire as 
a sequel to the exciting dissipation." 



268 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

(Here the speaker expatiated largely, but as I was 
one of them at college, I don't transcribe.) 

" We test the working of this system of prizes in 
the diffusion of moral influence and religious knowl- 
edge. Where prizes are offered, fewer books are 
issued, and these at a more expensive rate for the 
buyer. Often it appears that the book which most 
pleased the awarding committee was really not so 
good as several of the competing works. This is 
true, also, of the prize newspaper story. But the 
sensations which attend the issue of the superior 
work, as they would make it appear, are expected to 
indemnify the publisher for his extra expense in pro- 
claiming them. 

"It is like the early times of the art of gunnery, 
when the size of the ball was the main object to which 
engineers addressed themselves. Marble bullets of 
from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds 
weight were fired in these big guns but once in each 
day, and if they hit the mark (which they rarely did) 
their work was signally devastating. The consolation 
for a miss of the mark was a tremendous noise ! 

u The quality of the book must be, according to 
order, commonplace enough. You must not spin 
glass, but yarn, for glass is ' highfalutin ' and yarn is 
useful and sensible. A touch of erudition is fatal as, 
according to the ancients, was that of a kingfisher to 
a bush. What the ' committee ' do not know must be 
instantly extinguished. The story must be truth, and 
yet representing real life about as much as does the 
' roc's egg * interpret Wesleyan ' lay representation* 

" The moral must be good, albeit carefully non- 



THE UNIVERSALIST SERMON. 269 

committal on all subjects which touch the committee's 
taste or habits. 

" The true dignity of the Christian church forbids 
resort to such enginery as prizes of this stamp. These 
bounty moneys for books and tractates carry us back to 
the days of the sale of indulgences, and the barter of 
the feathers of a certain bird as a safeguard against 
thunder and family quarrels. Although the tendency 
of the times is for prizes of all sorts, the church should 
be clean from this corruption. The leading conser- 
vators of her morals should not enter the indecorous 
lists. The youth who are trained to think themselves 
better than others because nurtured in peculiar 
forms and ceremonies, from such examples and tuition 
derive encouragement to pursue gaming and a career 
of the most debasing character. What is learned 
under the green tree will be practised on a more 
liberal scale under the dry. 

"Jupiter was wise to save the horn of the goat 
which he nursed ; afterwards it became to him ' a 
horn of plenty.' The child that is nursed on church 
grab-bags, fish-ponds, guess-cakes, and wheels of for- 
tune, with all the other nameless appliances of these 
fairs for pious purposes, will save that in his soul 
which will mature into a greed nothing can satisfy. 
His hand, ever outstretched for the horn of plenty, 
will grasp only the little end, while the other will 
empty its fabulous treasures into the unsightly abysm 
of his false ambition. Unhappiness, born of unrest 
and disappointment, is his sure portion." 

(Much more in this strain did the preacher say, 
when he announced the final portion of his text : " Of 



270 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast 
in more than they all.") 

" The poor widow found a prize in a sense of 
having received the divine approval. She had done 
what she could in a spirit of simplicity, truth, and 
unbounded faith. For it is certain that she must have 
had this faith, else she would not have cast in her all. 
A sense of the infinite goodness filled the vacuum in 
her soul created by poverty. She knew that He who 
careth for the sparrows would not forget one who was 
destined to be an heir of immortality. This woman 
was truly happy. My hearers, had she not found a 
prize even in this world — one which the man with 
his millions knows not of ? 

" The prize of riches is not to be despised, if accom- 
panied by a spirit like that which this woman had — 
simplicity, truth, faith. Said Confucius : ' The man 
to whom God hath given riches, and blessed with a 
mind to employ them aright, is peculiarly favored and 
highly distinguished.' 

" It should be always our care to both learn and 
teach that lesson in the work of creation. ' And God 
saw everything that He had made, and behold it was 
very good.' The commonest things may be exalted 
into prizes, when the heart sees in them what certain 
men of old time found written on ' every leaf and 
flower — the name of God ! 

" Every heart may prove a nest of singing birds if 
swung in the branches of infinite love. 

"Angels are ever our guests — the highest and 
purest in those hearts which love most. 

" Existence itself is a prize, though we, who love 
not, but hate much, are blind. 






THE UNIVERSALIST SERMON. 2^JI 

" The consciousness that we were born with a 
destiny which is to be evolved in the presence of 
heavenly hosts, should ever wrap our spirits in a 
delicious content, so that it will signify not much 
whether our earthly feet are shod with golden sandals, 
and walk the streets of towns, or thrid the green lanes 
of quiet hamlets with shoes so worn and clumsy we 
cannot but feel the prick of thorns. 

"The"scale on which God distributes prizes, equal- 
izes fortune in reality. A man should remember that 
his lot, whether full or scant, like the city which was 
measured by the golden reed, has ' length as large as 
the breadth, and the height of it is also equal,' here or 
there, in this life or the next." 

Yet other words in this strain did the preacher 
utter that morning ; but these were all which were 
entered in the note-book, except the very last, which 
were these : " Friends, like the apostle, press forward 
towards the mark for the prize of the high calling. 
Like the poor widow, cast in your all, which is love. 
This alone is substance and life. Whatever is done in 
any other spirit is worthless. Whatever is done to 
be seen of men, and to obtain their poor, ephemeral 
rewards, impoverishes the soul, and retards your 
preparation for eternal felicity. With the prize of 
your high calling in view, all work shall be glorified, 
all aims shall be sanctified. Every man will be your 
neighbor, your brother, whom you would no more 
injure designedly . than you would injure yourself. 
Nay, you will strive in all ways to help him to press 
forward toward the mark for the prize of the high 
calling of God in Christ Jesus." 

After the service, conversation began in the vesti- 



272 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

bule. Israel heard such fragments as these: "Our 
minister is a fearless man, and I am glad of it." 

" Yes, he said things to-day which no one in this 
city will dare say in the public desk." 

" I don't agree with him in all the particulars, but I 
honor a man for stating his honest convictions in an 
honorable manner," spoke the gruff voice of a man 
whom Israel recognized as one of the city government. 

" We must look out for our fairs," was the soft 
whisper of a young lady to her friend, who replied, 
" I don't care ; I think there is real fun in a guess-cake. 
I got. the ring once, and I don't think I am any the 
worse for it." 

" Nor I," here interposed one with a mustache, who 
had been listening unperceived, " for I got a colored 
lady out of a grab-bag, myself; and I have been 
popularly in love with those ladies ever since." 

"Weil, young man," said Captain Brewster, as 
they reached the clear sidewalk, " what d'ye think of 
the sermon ? " 

" Is it a specimen of what you hear in your pulpit 
regularly ? " asked Israel in reply. 

" I told you he was a little peculiar, you will 
remember ; but we get much the same from him 
always." 

" I wish to take time for my answer to your ques- 
tion," said Israel ; "he crossed many of my ' estab- 
lished opinions' most slashingly." 

" I thought as much. Queer, that he preached 
about prizes to-day, when you happened to be there; 
Better go again this afternoon, and see what you will 
get." 

" I think I will," responded Israel. 



CONVERSATION WITH A UNIVERSALIST. 273 



CHAPTER II. 

CONVERSATION WITH A UNIVERSALIST. 

That day Israel dined with Captain Brewster. 
The conversation naturally turned upon Universal ism. 
Israel inquired if the denomination acknowledged any 
particular creed. The captain replied, "We have 
what is called the Winchester Confession. In 1803, a 
committee composed of four leading Universalists 
prepared for the. annual convention which met at 
Winchester, New Hampshire, certain articles of 
belief, which to this day are reckoned the standard 
ground of our church theology. The reason of giving 
out a formula of doctrine at that time, I must not 
omit to tell you, as it furnishes an interesting item in 
our history. The Supreme Court of New Hampshire 
decreed that Universalists and Congregationalists were 
one, in law, in order to get a tax out of the Univer- 
salists for the support of Congregational parishes. So 
they announced themselves in a fashion which they 
intended should either make a breach, or clear away 
all but the breach. This was the ' Profession of 
Belief,' " he continued, on opening a book which he 
took down from his library : — 

" ' 1 . We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old 
and New Testaments contain a revelation of the char- 
18 



274 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

acter of God, and of the duty, interest, and Jinal 
destination of mankind. 

" ' 2. We believe there is one God, whose nature is 
love, revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy 
Spirit of Grace ; who will finally restore the whole 
family of mankind to holiness and happiness. 

"'3. We believe that holiness and true happiness 
are inseparably connected ; and that believers ought to 
maintain order and practise good works ; for these 
things are good and profitable unto men.' " 

" There was no danger of the Universalists being: 
identified with the Congregationalists, after that," said 
Israel. 

" I should think not. What think you of such a 
creed ? " asked the captain. 

" It is not clear to me what value is attached to the 
mission of the Lord Jesus Christ." 
" The words are plain — " 

" If so, why then are Universalists divided in their 
opinions upon this point? Some of them with whom 
I have conversed speak of him as a man who lived a 
very good life, but not more a mediator or atoning 
sacrifice for the sins of mankind than was Seneca, 
Confucius, or Peter. Others of whom I have read 
are quite orthodox in their idea of the atonement. In 
the library which was left me by my father I found a 
collection of hymn books used by the different denom- 
inations. Among these is one which was ' selected 
and designed for the use of the Independent Christian 
Church, of Gloucester ' — the church of the earliest 
American Universalists. It was printed in 1808. 
Nearly every hymn of this collection has some refer- 



CONVERSATION WITH A UNIVERSAL1ST. 275 

ence to Christ as the Son of God, who was the Medi- 
ator and is the Saviour of mankind. They are hymns 
which, for pure doctrine upon the character and mis- 
sion of Christ, the straitest member of the strictest 
sect would not censure. Many of those whom the 
Universalists claim as their particular lights have been 
orthodox on the doctrine of the Atonement." 

"Mr. Ballou has written a work on the Atonement, 
which I wish you to read," said the captain, taking 
down another book. 

"May I ask the nature of his views?" said Israel. 

" It is hardly doing justice to any work on theology, 
to select only specimen pages," he replied ; " yet I will 
read a little on ' Atonement in its Nature,' — a small 
portion of Ballou's Treatise upon the Atonement : — 

" ' I have already observed, that atonement and 
reconciliation are the same. Reconciliation is a 
renewal of love, and love is the law of the spirit of 
life in Christ Jesus, of which St. Paul speaks in 
Romans 7 : 2, by which he was made free from the 
law of sin. The soul, when governed by the law of 
sin which is in the members, of which St. Paul speaks 
in Romans 7 : 23, is in a state of unreconciliation to 
the law of the spirit. And it is by the force and 
power of the law of love in Christ, that the soul is 
delivered from the government of the law of sin ; the 
process of this deliverance is the work of atonement 
or reconciliation. 

" ' The reader will now see, with ease, that that 
power which causes us to hate sin, and love holiness, 
is the power of Christ, whereby atonement is made. 
All the law and the prophets rested on this spirit of 



276 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

love, by which alone they can be fulfilled. This 
eternal spirit of love is the word or logos, which was, 
in the beginning, with God, and was God, which was 
hidden behind the letter of the law, and in the cabal- 
istic allegories of the prophets, until it brake forth in 
the official character of Jesus, and rent the vail of the 
temple from top to bottom. Our Saviour, in his offi- 
cial character, is always called by the name or names, 
which is, or are, applicable to God, manifest in the 
Jlesh, which figuratively means the letter of the law ; 
this circumstance will fully account for all the Scrip- 
tures which my opponent would urge in support of 
Jesus being essentially God. 

" ' Christ came not to destroy the law and the proph- 
ets, but to fulfil them ; the law is as far fulfilled in the 
soul, as it is brought to love God, in his adorable 
image, Jesus ; and a complete fulfilment of the law 
and the prophets will effect love in every soul, on 
whom the law, in a moral sense, is binding. 

" ' Let it be asked, by what means are we brought to 
love God? Answer : '" We love him, because he first 
loved us." God's love to us is antecedent to our love 
to him, which refutes the notion of God's receiving 
the atonement ; but the idea, that the manifestation of 
God's love to us, causes us to love him, and brings us 
to a renewal of love, (in which spirit we all stood, in 
our spiritual head, Jesus, before formation ; and from 
which we in a certain sense elapsed, after being made 
subject to vanity) is perfectly consonant to the necessity 
of atonement ; it shows us what atonement is, and the 
power which the Mediator must have and exercise, in 
order to reconcile all things to God.' * * * 



CONVERSATION WITH A UNIVERSALIST. 2>jJ 

" Again he says : ' Christians have for a long time 
believed that the temporal death of Christ made an 
atonement for sin. and that the literal blood of the 
man who was crucified has efficacy to cleanse from 
guilt ; but surely this is carnality, and carnal minded- 
ness, if I have any knowledge of the apostle's meaning, 
where he says, " To be carnally minded is death." 
The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. The 
apostles were made able ministers of the New Testa- 
ment, not of the letter, but of the spirit. Christ saith, 
M except ye eat my flesh, and drink my blood, ye have 
no life in you." Must we understand this in a literal 
sense? If we do, how shall we understand what he 
further says of this matter? "The flesh profiteth 
nothing ; the words which I speak, they are spirit 
and they are life." 

" ' The apostasy of the Jews happened in consequence 
of the lips of the priests not preserving knowledge ; 
they fell from the spirit of the law, were lost in the 
wilderness of the letter, and therefore were blinded 
indeed. This was a figure of the more dreadful 
apostasy of Christians, as were various circumstances 
recorded in the Old Testament. The Christian apos- 
tasy happened in the same way ; and the church has 
been led into the wilderness of the letter by an hire- 
ling priesthood, who knew nothing of the spirit of the 
law ; who have preached, in the name of the Lord, the 
letter which killeth, in room of the spirit which 
giveth life. 

" 'The literal death of the man Christ Jesus is fig- 
urative ; and all the life we obtain by it, is by learning 
what it represented. The literal body of Jesus repre- 



278 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

sented the whole letter of the law, with all the allego- 
ries contained in the word of prophecy. The death 
of the body of Jesus represented the death and 
destruction of the letter, when the spirit comes forth, 
bursting the veil thereof, which is represented by the 
resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Agreeebly to 
this, the reader will understand all the sacrifices, 
under the law, by which the high priests entered 
within the veil. 

" ' Being thus enabled to pass from the letter to the 
spirit, we see what death it is which is the proper 
sacrifice for sin, and what blood it is that cleanses 
from guilt. The blood is said to be the life ; it is 
therefore the spirit or life of the law which does away 
sin, and gives life to the soul. 

" ' I am sensible there are thousands who profess 
Christianity, who are blind enough to object and say, 
"Then the Gospel has nothing to do in the salvation 
of mankind." But suffer me to say, the Gospel is 
nothing but the spirit of the law, which is the word, 
or logos, spoken in the law, brought forth from 
the shadows of the first dispensation. To believe m 
any other atonement than the putting off the old man, 
with his deeds, and the putting on of the new man, 
which, after God, is created in righteousness and true 
holiness, is carnal mindedness and death.' " 

" I see now," commented Israel, " the view of the 
atonement as held by at least one Universalist. It 
strikes me that the spirit of the great atoning sacrifice 
for sin, as apparent from the plainest reading of the 
New Testament, is pretty well killed out of this 
explanation of the letter." 



CONVERSATION WITH A UNIVERSALIST. 279 

" His theory makes me think of the griffin of the 
ancients," he continued, "which was part eagle and 
part lion. The wings and beak indicate capacity for 
a flight into celestial regions, but it is held down bvthe 
lion. The creature must work himself out of the 
wilderness of sin by means of his carnality alone ; 
the eagle part of the atonement serves only as an 
ornament or mere impetus in the work. In other 
words, the Christ of Ballou's atonement does not 
rescue the sinful man, or work in any more efficacious 
way than as a present adornment of the scheme and 
an animating principle in its execution. After all, 
the lion does the work. " It is the man who moves." 

"Is that not rational?" said the captain, " if you 
leave all the work of redemption to either the eagle or 
lion alone and singly, it is inconsistent with reason 
and revelation. I like your figure. Without the 
eagle, the creature would be but a beast which could 
never fly heavenward. With that royal bird, it finally 
is enabled to plume itself for an immortal flight. The 
scheme which leaves all the work to the eagle is most 
dangerous, in my view." 

"Did Mr. Ballot believe in any punishment after 
death?" now asked Israel. 

" Upon this I will quote his words from another 
of his books, entitled ' Notes on the Parables.' 

"' St. Paul says, "As in Adam all die, even so in 
Christ shall all be made alive." And he is particular 
in stating the constitution which all men will receive 
in the resurrection of which he speaks. * * * He 
makes no distinction! He says nothing of the good 
works of some and the evil works of others. His 



280 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

testimony is, in fact, directly against any distinction or 
difference in that immortal state ; all are made alive 
in Christ, and as this life is spiritual, incorruptible 
and immortal, this testimony agrees with the testimony 
of Jesus to the Sadducees on the same subject of the 
resurrection, in which he says that in the resurrection 
they are the children of God, equal unto the angels, 
and can die no more.. In this debate with the Sad- 
duces, Jesus gave no intimation that any would rise 
from the dead to a state of condemnation, but was 
particular in saying that all live unto him.' " 

" But do all the standard Universalists agree with 
Mr. Ballou upon this point?" continued Israel. 

"No, they do not. Some believe in a limited pun- 
ishment after death. Some reject the word ' punish- 
ment,' and interpret the same idea by such words as 
'the necessary consequences of sin.' In 1827, our 
people were considerably agitated upon this question, 
and for a time there was an apparent division into 
Impartialists and Restorationists. Of these latter, the 
Reverend Paul Dean wrote thus : ' The Restorationists 
maintain that a just retribution does not take place in 
time ; that the conscience of the sinner becomes cal- 
lous, and does not increase in the severity of its 
reprovings with the increase of guilt ; that men are 
invited to act with reference to a future life ; that if all 
are made perfectly happy at the commencement of the 
next state of existence, they are nor rewarded accord- 
ing to their deeds ; that if death introduces them into 
heaven, they are saved by death, and not by Christ ; 
and if they are made happy by being raised from the 
dead, they are saved by physical, and not by moral 



CONVERSATION WITH A UNIVERSALIST. 281 

means, and made happy without their agency or 
consent ; that such a sentiment weakens the motives 
to virtue, and gives force to the temptations of vice ; 
that it is unreasonable in itself, and opposed to many 
passages of Scripture." 

"James Kelly of England," continued the captain, 
"whose disciple was Mr. Murray, the first Universa- 
list preacher in America, believed that there would be 
i a resurrection to life, and a resurrection to condem- 
nation — that believers only will be among the former 
who, as first fruits, and kings and priests, will have 
part in the first resurrection, and shall reign with 
Christ in his kingdom of the Millennium ; that unbe- 
lievers who are raised after, must wait the manifestation 
of the Saviour of the world — under that condemna- 
tion of conscience which a mind in darkness and 
wrath must necessarily feel ; that ultimately every 
knee shall bow — and every tongue confess,' etc. etc." 

"As there seems to be a diversity of opinion upon 
essential points of doctrine, I should think it would be 
difficult to know who should truly be called a Univer- 
salist, or who they may cast out as heretical from 
among themselves," remarked Israel. 

" Of this, let me read you from Whittemore's ' Plain 
Guide,' " said the captain. 

"'There has been some discussion within a few 
years past, on the appellation Universalist. The 
question seems to have been, whether this word ought 
to be applied to all who believe in the eventual restora- 
tion of all mankind, or only to a particular class of 
them. On this subject we have never had but one 
opinion, and that opinion we have frequently expressed, 



282 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

namely : that all persons, who truly believe in the 
eventual salvation of all ma?ikind by the grace of 
the Lord fesus Christ, are Universalists. This is 
the rule laid down in the modern history of Univer- 
salism. For instance, Richard Coppin and Jeremy 
White, who both flourished in the time of Cromwell, 
are put down in that work as Universalists, although 
they differed much in opinion on minor points ; the 
latter being a Trinitarian, and a believer in future 
punishment, the former discarding that doctrine.' " 

" I like that definition of Whittemore's," said Israel ; 
" all persons who truly believe in the eventual salva- 
tion of all mankind, by the grace of the Lord fesus 
Christ, are Universalists. The more you strike out 
' the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,' as found in the 
Revealed Word, the more you lose your glory and 
your power." 

"So think I," responded the captain ; " as a denom- 
ination, or as individuals, we have a transient pretence 
of a power, if we look only to ourselves. I rejoice in 
every effort which is put forth by our faithful watch- 
men on the forecastle of the good ship of our Zion, to 
keep the doctrines pure. I will be one to contend 
earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. If 
there are any who sail under our colors, who believe 
not in this Gospel, let them go out from us and enter 
the service after their own heart. The sea is broad 
and free to all." 

"Do you believe in any punishment subsequent to 
death ? " asked Israel. 

"I do ; but my idea is that no punishment inflicted 
by God is vindictive, but corrective. It is intended 



CONVERSATION WITH A UNI VERS AI.IST. 283 

only for the good of the erring, and not to appease His 
wrath. I confess that those words, ' the wrath of God,' 
smite one with shame that, an intelligent being of this 
enlightened asre can ever consent to use them. How 
unworthy the divine character ! " 

u But we must not be wise above that which is writ- 
ten," said Israel ; "you remember that there is much in 
the Bible, the New Testament as well as the Old, which 
shows the possibility of the literal sense of such words." 

"Not when we compare Scripture with Scripture, 
and rightly understand the context. Many such an 
expression is a Hebraism or Grecism." 

"This last interpretation of yours is a convenient 
subterfuge for a multitude of troublesome passages," 
said Israel, with a smile. 

"You should read our standard authors, and learn 
from them an explanation of the apparently difficult 
places." 

" To whom do you refer the origin of Universalism 
— to Niel Douglass of Glasgow, who prayed to God 
for the devil, as 'his ancient servant,' or to Kelly?" 
continued Israel. 

" Now you are far astray of the mark," answered 
the captain ; " the first Universalists after Christ and 
his apostles, of whom we have any distinct account, 
were- Clemens Alexandrinus, president of the Cat- 
echetical School of Theology and Philosophy at Alex- 
andria, Egypt, and Origen, who is called the greatest 
scholar of the early church. It is said that he wrote 
six thousand volumes." 

" I now remember," here interposed Israel, " that 
Origen left on record these words respecting the doc- 



284 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

trine of the final salvation of all men : ' The se?zti?nent 
ought to be kept secret amo?ig such as may be Jit 
to receive it, and not -publicly exposed? You will 
find this in ' Marsh's Ecclesiastical History. ' " 

" Is that so? " said the captain. 

" It is ; and I think Origen was a man of good 
sense and keen perception. If I were a believer in 
the doctrine, I would not let my left hand know of it. 
It can do no good, and may do infinite evil, if untrue. 
Yet I have no doubt that many benevolent, large- 
hearted apostles of the orthodox churches secretly 
believe it, or at least devoutly hope it may be true. 
It is, however, a faith hidden at the bottom of the well 
of their hearts. There are more Universalists, accord- 
ing to Mr. Whittemore's definition, than the world 
will ever dream of." 

" I do not consent to your statement that the pro- 
mulgation of the truth can do no good. In the first 
place, it does a man's own soul good to be perfectly 
honest and open. Candor is the fructifying dew of 
heaven, which enriches the soil of the heart ; while 
the opposite contracts and exhausts its powers and 
graces. The law of giving is increase. The exercise 
which brings expansion multiplies capacity and re- 
source. Not only does it benefit one's self, but it 
blesses others, to preach this truth which brings a 
glorious immortality to light, through our Lord and 
Saviour. It lifts the natural veil of darkness which 
surrounds man, and affords him cheering glimpses of 
his coming, immortal destiny — cheering indeed are 
they, amidst the trials and privations of this sin- 
stricken state of existence. With this view men are 



CONVERSATION WITH A UNIVERSALIST. 285 

saved from religious despondency, blighting infidelity, 
and atheism." 

" Perhaps you are right," said Israel ; " yet I think 
there is danger of crying peace at a fearful risk." 

" Not when you believe that every man shall be 
judged after death, according to his works," said the 
captain. " In addition to these names," he went on, 
" I must not omit to mention among the fathers of 
Universalism, Titus, Bishop of Bostra, Gregory Nys- 
sen, Evagrius Ponticus, Didymus the Blind, president 
of the Alexandrian School, Theodorus, Bishop of 
Mopsuestia, and others of the fathers. Universalism 
was condemned at celebrated councils, which proves 
that it continued to flourish. In 1660, appeared 
Jeremy White, chaplain of Cromwell, who published 
his ' Restitution of All Things.' Archbishop Tillot- 
son, Dr. Burnet, and William Whiston were Univer- 
salists. So was the German philosopher, Kant." 

" A German philosopher never stops at Christian 
Universalism," said Israel. 

" Petitpierre's ' Treatise on the Divine Goodness,' 
was first published at Amsterdam, Holland," he con- 
tinued. 

" There is the bell for church," exclaimed Israel. 

"Yes ; so for the present, our conversation must be 
suspended," the captain concluded. 



286 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 



CHAPTER III. 



SECOND SERMON. 



The minister arose and announced his text to be 
"He hath no hands''' Is. 45: 9. These words are 
found in this connective reading — "Woe unto him 
that striveth with his Maker ! Let the potsherd strive 
with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say 
to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou ! or thy 
work, He hath no hands?" 

Israel made a few notes, which ran in this wise : — 

" The ministry of Universalism is specially the 
ministry of reconciliation — reconciliation of man to 
his Maker, and not of the Maker to his creature, man. 
The first idea was worthy of the most exalted char- 
acter of God, — as the Creator and Sovereign ; the 
other idea fitted those whom the inspired writer had 
likened to a potsherd of the earth, or a fragment of a 
broken earthen vessel. 

"Addison mentions in his travels in Italy, the re- 
public of Lucca, which has the word Libertas in let- 
ters of gold over the only gate of the city. The whole 
administration of government at that period passed 
into different hands every two months. This was like 
those people who, in their views and corresponding 
actions, give out that God rules one day and they the 



SECOND SERMON. 287 

next ; changing about the administration of the affairs 

of the world with every other moon. In some things 

they allow a divine oversight which virtually amounts 

to government ; in others, they and their fellows are 

all and in all. This is Liberty in golden letters over 

the gateway of their souls ! 

" God either rules or He does not. Man likewise 

is a sovereign, or he is not. He cannot be God unless 

he does rule, and is the alpha and omega of power. 

Any other idea at once sinks his nature and attributes 

to a level beneath even that occupied by man. If God 

rules as a sovereign, all things pertaining to his plan 

of government are absolutely right, perfect, infinitely 

good. Whatever appears to the contrary, is the fault 

of him that striveth with his Maker. For God to rule 

and yet man be free, is wholly inconsistent. 

****** 

" There are many in the Christian world who 
believe that God created all men for salvation ; that 
He is willing that they should be saved, and has pro- 
vided a way whereby they may be saved. But his 
creature, man, is able to refuse this salvation, go 
utterly out of this way, and be finally lost. In support 
of this theory they adduce the testimony of all ages, 
which they claim cannot be broken, viz : the lives of 
bad men, reprobates, those who create only evil, and 
that continually. Of any one of these men they use 
language which may be figuratively translated into the 
simple sentence, ' He hath no ha?ids? That is, there 
is no developed power in him to do anything fitting 
and right. The word hands, as used here, I take to 
proceed from a root (this preacher, though furnished 



288 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

from all the schools, never used a Greek or Latin 
word in his pulpit) signifying to be strong, straight, 
right ; which would give the sense of fitness and beauty. 
This is one of the definitions of a standard lexicogra- 
pher. He hath no power to do that which is straight, 
right, and beautiful ; or if, having the power, it is dead, 
and hence the same as no power. He hath no hands. 

"These, say they, are. the bad men who, like their 
arch prototype, go to and fro on the earth, seeking 
whom they may devour, breaking into the houses of 
innocent citizens, despoiling men of their goods, lead- 
ing astray the unwary, thirsting for blood, and per- 
forming all those numerous deeds which, if exposed 
and adjudged, send the performers to the gallows or 
the place of confinement. These are also the bad men 
who believe and teach false doctrines. 

" These are, also, they affirm, the men who do not 
join ' our church,' nor walk on our plank, and refuse 
openly and boldly to acknowledge fraternity with 
those who walk on any other. These all are they 
who have no hands ; the one class as well as the 
other ; they do nothing straight, right, and beautiful ; 
or if they do accomplish that which seems to have 
some right to be so called, it is all filthy rags. All of 
them deserve the vengeance of eternal damnation ; 
and all of them are sure to get this just reward of 
their works. 

" Certainly, we may here pause to consider that 
the orthodox hell is a curious place, inhabited by such 
a variety of elements. It almost matches for curiosity 
the orthodox heaven, which is composed of all sorts 
of persons who, in this life, were illustrations of 



SECOND SERMON. 289 

profound convictions of the utility of selfishness, 
crime, and unbelief. 

" ' How can these men who have no hands,' cries 
the Calvinist, 'be finally saved, after a life of such 
unqualified depravity, superadded to which is the 
most heinous unbelief in the only true way of salva- 
tion ! They have neither works nor faith.' And 
every one of these exclaimers has some example to 
thrust before your eyes as an incontrovertible evidence 
of their proposition — some terrible image of depravity 
in human shape — some dragon of iniquity, the re- 
hearsal of whose career is enough to make the blood 
curdle in your veins. 

" Here, my hearers, I invite you to let the anthem 
of divinest praise go up from your hearts, that God, 
the Maker of heaven and earth, seeth not as man 
seeth ! Praise God ! let all the people praise His 
great and holy name ! 

(A deep, serious voice in the congregation responded 
Amen.} 

"Cain is more to be pitied than Abel, because he 
had a distorted getting-up — a deformed spiritual, 
mental, and moral organization. We say not this to 
complain or strive with his Maker — shall the clay say 
to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy 
work, He hath no hands? This also was' for the glory 
of God. Cain was not made for any other purpose. 
To believe that God made him for endless woe, is the 
most daring impiety. ' Who hath declared this from 
ancient time ?. who hath told it from that time ! 
have not I the Lord ? and there is no God else besides 
me, a just God and a Saviour I ' 
l 9 



29O AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

"The venomous snake of the recesses of the north- 
ern rocks, the slimy reptiles of the dank ravines of the 
tropical lands, the grim alligators basking in the waters 
under the tree trunks which can scarcely be distin- 
guished from the gigantic boa constrictor that winds 
around them — these all are His works. These all are 
creatures of that creation which God called very good, 
alike with the bird of most beauteous plumage or of 
the sweetest voice, — alike with the white-robed, peace- 
ful lamb, or the patient and useful beast of burden. A 
divine purpose is answered by the fierce lion of Bili- 
dulgerid, the leopard from Hindostan, the unicorn 
from Thibet, the rhinoceros and river-horse from 
Senegal, the antelope from the Zaara, the reindeer from 
polar latitudes, the elephant from Ceylon or Siam, the 
ibex of Angora, the bison, buffalo, the camelopard, 
the quagga, the zebra, and chamois. These, too, with 
others, may be said to be representative of various 
tribes and peoples of the earth, of whom it is written : 
'Look unto me and be ye saved all ye ends of the 
earth ! ' In that glorious day, 4 The wolf also shall 
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down 
with the kid ; and the calf and the young lion and the 
fatling together ; and a little child shall lead them. 
And the cow and the bear shall feed ; their young ones 
shall lie down together : and the lion shall eat straw 
like the ox. * * They shall not hurt nor destroy 
in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of 
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.' 

" In wisdom hast thou made them all, O my God ! 
Do you wonder that the saint Chrysostom was called 
in all history, ' the golden-mouthed I 9 For it was he 



SECOND SERMON. 2QI 

who was accustomed to say, ' Praise God for all 
things ! ' He saw nothing' which had no hands I 

" My hearers, I tested this glorious view of man- 
kind, fallen man, in my boyhood. Suffer the word 
of narration for an interlude. I used to recite some 
of my preparatory lessons in the classics to a clergy- 
man, who, I believe was the most Christ-like in his 
thinking and doing of any man I ever knew. I was 
with him in his study, and he had been pausing to 
recite a passage in the life of Christ, one peaceful day 
of the decline of summer, when our attention was 
arrested by rude noises in the street below, accompa- 
nied by a volley of oaths which made one shudder. 
We looked from the window. There stood a man, 
his grey hairs falling down upon his threadbare coat, 
his eyes flashing an almost unearthly fire, while his 
hands clenched a bottle. Several boys were endeavor- 
ing to get it from him. My teacher opened the shut- 
ter, and called out. One of the boys said, ' It is only 
that old brute (calling the name of a notorious man 
of that town). He wants his bottle so as to beat his 
wife, and starve his children again.' The wretched 
man looked at them, then looked up to our window. 
He saw the well-known face of the clergyman, and 
raising his clenched fist, shook it towards him while 
he screeched out ' Go to hell I ' 

"My friend went quickly down. I next saw him in 
the street with his hand upon the arm of the wretched 
man. Then he led him within, where I found them 
in the grandest room of the house, the drunkard in a 
luxuriant chair near the centre of the floor, my friend 
walking up and down, without speaking. The drunk- 



292 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

ard trembled like a leaf, as he sat there, muttering and 
moaning by turns. At length the good man went up 
to the wretched wanderer, and said in his own low 
and compassionate voice, ' Brother ! ' ' Going after 
an officer, I suppose,' was the response, as he ventured 
to cast up a stealthy, fiery glance. 'No, I cannot 
accuse my brother, however much he may deserve it. 
Thou art a broken vessel, but what am I, that it is 
not as well with you as with me ! God made you. 
God is our Father. His name is also Love.' 

" 'No, it is not,' said the poor man, with an oath, 
' else he would not have let me come to this I ' Then 
he went on to tell how he was once the son of respect- 
able parents, how he grew up, by dint of much 
striving, a temperate and honest youth. The strife 
was often terrible, for his mother had thirsted for 
liquor before he was born. But it did not get the 
mastery till, during a severe sickness, his physician 
held the draught to his feverish lips. He took it, day 
after day, according to direction, till he was lost. 

" ' Since then,' said he ' twice have I been in the 
house of correction ; once, a term of three years, in the 
penitentiary of Columbus, Ohio, and once in a lunatic 
asylum of Massachusetts. What have I not suffered 
and what have not others suffered on my account ! ' 

"The good man listened; there were tears in his 
eyes ; he only said, ' Poor man ! thanks be to God that 
he has provided a place of purification.' The other 
thought he alluded to the house of correction, and said 
as much with an oath of defiance. 

" 'No,' said my friend, ' I was thinking of heaven, 
your own home ! 



SECOND SERMON. 293 

" ' Heaven ! what have I to do with that place ! I 
have been damned to hell more than a million times. 
I have bought up stock in that company, years ago ! ' 
The poor fellow actually laughed. 

" ' He shall let go my captives, not for price nor 
reward, saith the Lord of hosts,' repeated the clergy- 
man, as to himself. 

" The poor man stayed in that house for days, 
during which time he was used like a brother indeed. 
Words of love, of an almost maternal tenderness, were 
spoken to him. Prayer was offered without ceasing 
in his behalf, and yet he was not worried with prayer, 
nor with advice. When he went out again from that 
door, he was clothed anew and partially sane. Money 
was furnished him with which to go to a distant city. 
He went, provided with a letter of introduction to an 
estimable and truly benevolent man, written by the 
clergyman's own hand. 

a For some time, nothing was heard from him. At 
the expiration of about four years, a gentleman called 
to see my friend, the clergyman. He was unrecog- 
nized ; but it was the once wretched drunkard. He 
had come to tell his benefactor how much he owed 
to his instrumentality. ' That day when you took me 
in, poor wretch that I was — -was the day of my new 
birth!' he said, 'but I never broke down till you 
spoke of its being possible for me to go to heaven. 
When you called it my home, my own home, I began 
to think out of another heart. I seemed to be some- 
body else beside the outcast I had been. All at once, 
I said to myself, " If I am going to heaven, I must fix 
up myself or I shall be .ashamed when I get there: 



294 



AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 



But I tell you as long as I believed that I was going 
to hell, I didn't care to behave any other way than the 
worst, for that was good enough for such a home as I 
was going to. Then, after a day or two, God did not 
look to me as He used to. I did not hate His name 
as I had done. It appeared to me if He had made 
such a man as yourself, sir, who could pity me, that 
His own Son certainly would not turn me off. Then 
I loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and he seemed to lay 
His hand on my head just when you did as I sat there 
in your room, one night. After that, I felt willing to 
go to heaven, though I knew I wasn't fit at all \ * 

" My hearers ! that man afterwards became a citizen 
of usefulness and honor. I knew when he died. Good 
people mourned for him, and the poor bewailed his 
loss — for he had learned to pity them. His love was 
great, for he had been forgiven much. Think you that 
clergyman who saw in the poor outcast, a brother who 
should one day heir a glorious immortality — a child 
of God of whom it could not, it should not be said, 
6 He hath no hands ! but rather ' He hath hands * — 
hands which are capable of a work, straight, right, and 
beautiful, hands which shall one day write the blessed 
name of Immanuel upon hearts of his stricken fellow- 
man, — think you he could not say ' In the Lord have 
I righteousness and strength. In His word do I hope, 
for his promises are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus ! ' 

"Yes friends, even to Him shall men come, and all 
that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. All 
that say of any of His creatures, however sin-stricken, 
' He hath no hands,' shall be ashamed. All that de- 
spise the lowest, the meanest, the most apparently 



SECOND SERMON. 295 

worthless of God's creatures, shall be ashamed. They 
shall call on the rocks to cover their confusion in that 
day of power when every knee shall bow, and every 
tongue shall confess to the glory of God ! 

" Do you ask me, ' What will become of those 
wretched souls who do not repent in this life, who 
multiply their transgressions to their latest breath ? ' 
You will observe in a few verses preceding my text, 
that it reads, ' That they may know from the rising of 
the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides 
me. I am the Lord and there is none else ! ' This 
I take to be a beautiful illustration of the truth of the 
boundless provision for man's redemption from igno- 
rance and idolatry of false gods, or evil passions. 
Some will be led to acknowledge Him in the land 
where the sun rises, or in the early portion of their 
existence — in this life; while others will not confess 
him till they reach the west — that is the world beyond 
which the sun of this life goes down — the continua- 
tion of the endless existence. 

" There Christ preaches unto the spirits who are in 
prisons of ignorance, misconception, and sin. He 
opens the door of their souls, and sets his captives free, 
without price or reward. I remember being greatly 
impressed, in my youth, by reading of the return of a 
celebrated conqueror, to one of the continental cities, 
where the inhabitants exhibited their joy by holding 
up birds in cages, and giving them their liberty as he 
passed in triumphal procession ! But what is this to 
that release of the captive children of men from their 
cages of sin and blindness of mind, in honor of the 
victorious march of Him who is described in the vision 



296 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 

of the apocalypse : ' And I saw, and behold a white 
horse : and he that sat on him had a bow ; and a 
crown was given unto him : and he went forth con- 
quering and to conquer ! 

1 Hosanna to our conquering King, 
All hail, incarnate love ! 
Ten thousand songs and glories wait 
To crown thy head above ! 

'Thy vict'ries and thy deathless fame 
Through the wide world shall run, 
And everlasting ages sing 

The triumphs thou hast won ! ' 

" When you contemplate this glorious event of the 
setting free of the captives, can you not newly under- 
stand why the angels veil their faces before the bright- 
ness of His ineffable glory, and in honor of the triune 
name, cry, ' Holy, holy, holy, art Thou, Lord God 
Almighty, which art and which wast and which is to 
come. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts ; the 
whole earth is full of Thy glory. Thou art worthy, 
O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power : for 
Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure 
they are and were created ! ' 

"Dare any of you, then, look on your fellow-man 
and refuse to recognize the divine image which- he 
wears — that photograph of infinite possibilities of joy !. 
Durst any one of you go forth from this house of our 
God to-day, and see a single fellow being, no matter 
who or what he is and has been, and say c He hath no 
hands ! ' all capacity for making strong, straight, right, 
and beautiful paths for his feet is gone ! Dare you 



SECOND SERMON. 297 

cast eyes of scorn and hate on degraded and fallen 
woman ? Dare you say of her, that mournfulest knell 
of the soul — 'No more! No more in the image of 
God ! ' . 

" Dare you pass by, beyond the side of reconcilia- 
tion with him who has injured you ; who has deeply, 
lastingly, irrecoverably wronged you ? Dare you say 
of your bitterest foe, 'He hath no hands?' Never 
again can he make straight, right, and beautiful paths 
for my feet ! Perhaps he never will in this life ; but 
what, after all, is this first chapter of existence — but 
a span long! You cannot evade the 'truth that an 
eternity is before you, where God is the visible pres- 
ence which draws all men to Himself. The sooner 
you are in a state that can be assimilated to the divine, 
the more glorious your hereafter — for one star difFer- 
eth from another star in glory. You cannot be in 
this state unless love reigns — a perfect reconciliation 
to your Maker possesses your heart and life, so that 
all His work shall appear harmonious, beautiful, infi- 
nitely right. 'Where we can't unriddle, we must learn 
to trust.' There is ' seeming evil ' here, but from it we 
must only ' educe the good.' A heart full of the love 
of God will not pause in the unhallowed indulgence 
of reasoning strife with the dear Father concerning His 
incomprehensible work. 

" As the river Clitumnus was fabled to turn all 
things white which drank of its waters, so let your 
souls drink of the river of God, whose fountain is 
exhaustless love, till they become purified and meet 
for the saints' inheritance in light." 



298 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THREE MONTHS LATER. 



" Since you insist upon my opinions of what I have 
heard from Universalist pulpits, and read in their 
books of standard theology," said Israel, " I must say, 
with your leave, that it seems to me I find, at least, 
one decided blemish." 

" What is that? " quickly rejoined Captain Brewster. 

" They too freely deal in hard words against those 
who differ from themselves, and especially against 
what are called Orthodox Christians." 

"Yes," said Ackerman, "I have noticed that, as 
Tillotson says, 'The scoffers twit the Christians.' It 
is inelegant as rhetoricians, insignificant as philoso- 
phers, unworthy as Christians. Great men, conscious 
of bearing the precious archives of truth, can afford to 
be more magnanimous." 

" I have sometimes thought," continued Israel, " that 
they believed in what amounted to a hell for their 
opponents." 

" Their pious imprecations, as well as those which 
are impious, are often very amusing," Ackerman 
went on. 

" I listen to you, sirs," said the captain, " as the 
angels must have heard the buccaneers who used to 



THREE MONTHS LATER. 299 

pray before going upon their piratical excursions. 
You rave at my people with a commendable zeal for 
godliness." 

His genial smile disarmed the severity of his words. 

u He thinks us far gone in the sin of prejudice," 
said Ackerman. 

" No ; I confess the justice of your criticism in part. 
But it is easily accounted for. Many of our preachers, 
and nearly all whose words have become our stand- 
ards, were men converted to Universalism from the 
orthodox denominations. They had been Baptists or 
Congregationalists. It was impossible that they should 
entirely lose the marks of their early habits, associa- 
tions, and education. No man is so bitter to the Uni- 
versalist as the real Baptist ; and several of our leading 
lights were Baptist preachers. Our young ministers 
read their works and catch their spirit. It is a pity, 
but a fault, considering its origin, which cannot at 
once be rectified. As our denomination is more thor- 
oughly developed, and hence becomes more self- 
contained, we shall show better manners." 

Ackerman laughed heartily as he said, "You have 
extricated yourself, I confess." 

"There is truth as well as wit in what he says," 
added Israel. 

"Certainly," said Ackerman; "if you would get 
models of bad temper and its exhibition, consult what 
artists would call evangelical studies." 

" The sea-serpent envy is master of the situation," 
said the captain ; " but let us pass on to number two — 
for I dare say the objections stand along the coast of 
your mind like a forest of masts." 

" Wherever we see Universalism in the ascendant 



300 AMONG THE UNIVERSALISTS. « 

in any community," said Israel, " is there not apparent 
an absence of good order, such as observance of the 
Sabbath, and all those evidences of a God-fearing 
people that mark a really desirable home?" 

" Where Universalism goes to seed," said Acker- 
man, " the place is unsightly and barren of good things." 

" That atheism," replied Captain Brewster, "brings 
forth some such results, I, myself, have noticed. But 
Universalism, — true, Christian Universalism is emi- 
nently productive of good fruits. What people of 
modern times have done more for temperance than 
have Universalists. Some of the noblest advocates of 
that holy cause, you will remember, are from our 
ranks. Besides, who giveth more liberally to the poor 
and distressed than the Christian Universalist? His 
heart overflows with the cream of human kindness, 
and his purse equals his heart so far as it is endowed. 
If I were in trouble, without name or credentials, 
without an inkhorn and pen whereby my benefactor 
could be reported, think you, sirs, I would apply to the 
Calvinists? As soon would I ask for a hug from a 
bear, or a kiss from a gorilla. Sooner would I expect 
to double Cape Horn in a wash-tub, as to successfully 
circumnavigate their hearts." 

"The quality of your mercy is not strained," said 
Ackerman. 

" Nor skimmed," said Israel ; "but his figure of the 
tub reminds me that Hercules, when he went to unbind 
Prometheus, sailed the length of the ocean in an 
earthen pot. Mr. Locke, the metaphysician, says that 
this represents human nature, and describes Christian 
resolution that saileth in the frail bark of the flesh, 
through the waves of the world, Now the captain's 



THREE MONTHS LATER. 3OI 

Christian resolution in his earthen wash-tub should 
accomplish wonders with these Calvinists, who, in- 
deed, have often shown the disciples, as did the 
barbarians to St. Paul, ' much kindness.'" 

" Yes," said Ackerman ; " the examples of the true 
liberality of the straitest sects are not to be forgotten." 

" They cannot be forgotten," said the captain, " since 
they are paraded beyond all chance of escape from the 
world's recognition." 

" They are known also for many acts of private 
benevolence among them," said Israel. 

" We do not boast, like other denominations," con- 
tinued the captain, but we raise moneys for denomina- 
tional and charitable purposes, equal in amount, to say 
the least, with those who blow their own horns the 
loudest." 

"My next objection," said Israel, "is that a large 
proportion of those who are numbered among your 
people do not believe the authority of the Bible, and 
hence reject the most precious Christian doctrine of 
the divine mission of Christ." 

"When all the other Christian denominations have 
cut off their left wing, or changed it to match the right 
one, and so make a perfect flight in an imperfect 
world, to heaven, we will accept your criticism in self- 
abasement. He that is without sin, let him begin to 
stone us. Let that religious sect which has no offend- 
ing members, cut off ours," answered the captain, 
curtly ; " what next? " 

"Nothing more at present," concluded Israel, "ex- 
cept that your doctrine has much that the Bible can be 
adduced in disproof." 

"What doctrine has not?" concluded the other. 



AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 

When Israel Knight had progressed as far as the 
foregoing in his investigations of the existing forms 
of the embodiment of religious truth, his inclinations 
took him to the pale of the Unitarian belief. He was 
not yet satisfied that he had found the "City" for 
which he sought. 

Some one told him that there was really no differ- 
ence between the Unitarians and Universalists, only 
"on the social plane;" but, as he saw considerable 
apparent distinction in their operations, he wished to 
learn for himself. This wish was, in part, stimulated 
by circumstances. About this time, it was his fortune 
to reside in the family of an eminent Unitarian cler- 
gyman. He thought that a better opportunity for his 
purpose could not have been presented. 

His first observations were practical. In this family 
he soon noticed a young girl who acted the part of an 
assistant domestic. He thought her the ugliest child 
he had ever seen. This impression of her face was 
not a little assisted by frequent exhibitions of an irras- 
cible temper. Conversations which were held in the 
study and parlor of the clergyman were interrupted 
or broken up by her furious outbursts of passion on 
303 



304 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

occasion of the slightest crossing of her will. In her 
unreason she seemed insane. In her vicious propen- 
sities there was "method in her madness." She was 
strangely ingenious to accomplish wrong against her 
benefactors, who were the younger ladies of the family. 

Israel could not but wonder what had induced these 
refined, intellectual, and amiable persons to undertake 
such a disagreeable charge — and concluded, at first, 
that this greatness of torment had been thrust upon 
them by unavoidable circumstances. Certainly nothing 
less could have brought such a blight upon that else 
well-ordered and elegant home. 

The history of her introduction to that household 
transpired in this account by one of the daughters : 
"Some time after leaving school, we found a consider- 
able portion of our time unoccupied by any sufficiently 
absoi'bing object of interest. We attended to our 
music, we read, visited, and so forth, but we required 
something more stimulating. Our lives were getting 
too same to suit us. An idea struck one of us, which 
all welcomed. We immediately applied to father for 
permission to execute it. This was to go abroad and 
perfect our knowledge of the French language in a 
celebrated fiensiomiat of Paris, where were already 
some of our friends and correspondents. He asked 
for a day's reflection upon our project, though we 
hardly believed he would give it many thoughts, as he 
was writing all that day. He only took time to dignify 
his assent, as we thought. That evening he called us 
to his study, and said he had concluded to recommend 
an object of pursuit, which in point of interest and 
real use to us, he thought far outweighed the other 



PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 305 

plan. Had we sufficient confidence in his affection for 
us to allow his judgment to prevail? he asked. We 
replied unqualifiedly our affirmative. 

" The French boarding-school, then, would be given 
up for the time, and he would bring home, on the 
morrow, the new object of interest and action. He 
declined to tell us what it was. That night, before 
we separated, he read to us the beatitudes in Matthew's 
Gospel. Upon the words, ' Blessed are the merciful, 
for they shall obtain mercy,' he dwelt with a peculiar 
tenderness of spirit ; and I thought I had never heard 
him explain so clearly the nature of that beautiful sen- 
timent. The next day we were all expectation. He 
went away accompanied by our mother, and it seemed 
to us they were gone a long while. But at last we 
heard the sound of the carriage-wheels in our yard, 
and we ran down to meet them, expecting to hear 
about an order for a new piano, a sewing-machine, or 
a complete set of artist's materials, when we discov- 
ered that they were accompanied by a strange child. 

"Father introduced her to us as the new object of 
interest and action. They had found her in an asylum 
whose authorities had come to consider her ' hopeless,' 
4 incorrigible,' and ' irreclaimable,' and were about to 
cast her upon a reform school. Her name was Mag- 
gie, though they said it should have been Magdalene, 
for she had as many evil spirits as that personage. 
' Then,' said father, ' there is hope for her ; her proto- 
type became a follower of Jesus ; let me have her for 
a trial.' She has been with us but a few weeks." 

"Are you not disheartened in the pursuit of such 
an object of interest and action ? " asked Israel. 
20 



306 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

"Not yet," she answered; "she has not sinned 
against us the seventy and seven times." 

"Not more than fifty," said one of the sisters. 

"Your system? Allow me to inquire, if you 
please," continued Israel. 

"Love, forbearance, long-suffering." 

" Let patience have her perfect work." 

"Believeth all things, endureth all things, hopeth 
all things." 

" And when we get faint in the pursuit," said the 
eldest, "we apply to papa, who reads to us the beati- 
tudes anew. Then he points us to Jesus, and tells us 
where we may get new strength." 

" Can you make the sacrifice, both of Paris and your 
own ease, without one pang of regret?" 

" Father has brought our work to appear to us so 
magnificent in comparison to any selfish enjoyment, 
that we are ashamed to ever speak of what we might 
enjoy abroad now. Even when one of us received a 
' black eye ' from the blow of her hand, the other day, 
as she was learning to read, we all agreed — that is, 
after a few moments of confusion succeeded by some 
of calmer reflection — that it was a good thing to do 
alms without wishing to be seen of men." 

Here a pleasant ripple of merriment ran through 
the group, and the conversation ended. Afterwards, 
the clergyman, when alone with Israel, said, " Perhaps 
we give less for denominational purposes than almost 
all other sects ; but we encourage all forms of unosten- 
tatious benevolence. We believe in striving to be 
Christ-like — to build up character, less by societies 
and groups of laudatory selfism which centre around 



PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 307 

a creed, than by deeds of simple justice to our fellow- 
beings." 

Israel had occasion to notice repeatedly that this 
clergyman proved himself "the highest style of man," 
in his gracious attention to all who applied to him for 
any office of kindness in his power ; and this, without 
reference to name or caste. Letters were frequently 
received by him from entire strangers, upon items of 
business, which had little claim upon his notice ; but 
these were invariably answered in the utmost courtesy. 
In this, he truly resembled his divine Master and 
Exemplar — nothing was too small, no one too ob- 
scure, to escape his gentlest consideration. The 
measure in which he meted out to his fellow-beings, 
returned to him again a hundred fold. 

When Israel had watched the working of this sys- 
tem of life, he exclaimed to himself: " How different 
is this man from others whom I have known — who 
reckon him a heretic to be set beyond the pale of their 
slightest recognition, as a true Christian? I shall 
listen to his teachings from my heart as well as my 
head." 

On the following Sabbath this clergyman preached 
one of his characteristic, elaborate, and great sermons. 
His text was : u For what man knoweth the things of 
a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? even 
so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit 
of God." (1 Cor. 2: 11.) 

The spirit of man and the spirit of God were 
discussed with a metaphysical acuteness and logical 
profundity worthy of any of the authors quoted, as 
Kant, Sir William Hamilton, Berkely, Hartley, Home, 



308 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

Tooke, Descartes, Feder, Garve, Fichte, Krug, Schulze, 
Malebranche, Helvetius, and the like. This brought 
Israel to a state of mental lucidity, as though he had 
been contemplating the " ephod and teraphim," made 
by the man Micah. The world around him seemed 
toned down to a reductio ad absurdum, while the 
Hartleian "vibrations and vibratiuncles in the medul- 
lary substance of the brain," with the " nihilism," 
"empiricism," and the kindred "isms" wound him up 
to exploding fragments of transcendental synthetics. . 

He was in a state of vapor like Bonnot de Condil- 
lac's theory of la faculte de sentir. This is no 
uncommon condition of minds in churches. He saw 
men as trees walking through the majestical illustra- 
tions of the preacher. The stronger his efforts to hold 
upon the argument the more weary he became ; and 
all thoughts of notes were out of the question, as 
indeed, were all thoughts of anything rational or 
connected. He fell asleep. 

The minister beheld him, and the words of Whately 
darted through his mind : " I cannot but think that the 
generality of sermons seem to presuppose a degree of 
religious knowledge in the hearers greater than many 
of them would be found on examination to possess. 
" I have made a mistake," he reflected. 

Israel knew not whether he was in or out of the 
body, till he began to be recalled by the sight and 
sound of the exchange of civilities on all sides of him. 
Of these civilities one thing impressed him — the 
ladies of the clergyman's family were very cordial to 
all whom they met — not only to those who appeared 
"congenial" and upon a similar "social plane," but 



PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 309 

to those less favored by fortune. He mentioned this 
afterward to a friend, who said to him: "Those 
ladies, descendants of colonial governors, state repre- 
sentatives, judges, and other eminent men, and at 
present connected with some of the leading families 
of the land, know no other way than to be gracious to 
all the members of their father's parish. They are 
not of that degenerate and insignificant order pf new 
people, who affect airs and make petty distinctions. 
Besides, their religion teaches them to follow the 
example of their Master as well as to profess faith in 
Him." 



3IO AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 



CHAPTER II. 



CONVERSATION. 



When Israel had listened to the teachings of the 
Unitarian clergyman until deeply interested, the fol- 
lowing conversation occurred between them : — 

Israel. "Your views of Regeneration, which, I 
suppose are similar to, or the same as, those of the 
Universalists, are not quite clear to my recognition." 

Clergyman. " Not accepting the dogma of the 
total depravity of mankind, we believe (and I draw 
from our standard authorities,) that man has, by 
nature, a divine principle within him, which, com- 
ing from God, will return to Him. This divinity in 
man can never be totally extinguished ; no power in 
heaven or earth can annul the holy relationship 
existing between the Creator and Creature. We be- 
lieve that the creature requires a transformation of 
heart, a regeneration from the natural into the higher 
spiritual life, and that this will eventually take place, 
here or hereafter, before the consummating event of 
union with the Creator. The divine union which is 
effected between the reconciled heart and God, in this 
life, constitutes the most excellent Christian character. 
He who truly lives in God, is truly regenerated. 

" There are, however, degrees in the regeneration. 



CONVERSATION. 311 

We do not attempt to estimate how many of these 
degrees it shall take to complete the standard of excel- 
lence. Here let me read to you a sentence from one 
of our standard writers,* which expresses my idea : 
4 Unitarians do not feel at liberty to define or restrict 
the mode of the divine operation in this spiritual, any 
more than in the natural birth. Recognizing as of 
indispensable necessity the hand of God in both, they 
know and acknowledge that a the wind bloweth where 
it listeth," and, consequently, that now a child of God 
may be raised and trained under the gentle care of a 
Christian mother's hourly love, and now may be 
brought forth amid the throes and pangs of the terror 
and distress of a conscience smitten by sudden calam- 
ity, or by the truthful words of a mighty " man of 
God." * * Regeneration, in their opinion, is not 
coercion, nor supercession, but a stage in moral growth, 
a process of spiritual development, a revival of 
dormant energies, a renewal of suspended life. 
Regeneration has its perfect work in salvation. * * 
Salvation is not only freedom from sin, but it is the 
perfection of virtue : in other words, it is humanity 
instructed, enriched, refined, and elevated to its highest 
pitch, in virtue of the power, and after the model of 
Christ.'" 

I. ''Your views comport more nearly with the 
work of God in Nature." 

C. " We do not encourage belief in that regener- 
ating process which is said to take place in one point 
of time, and in an equally defined point, lapses into a 

*Rev. Dr. Beard. 



3 I2 



AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 



state which is no better but worse than the first. 
Conversions which are the work of a freak of the 
mind, make unsightly characters ; whereas those which 
are the result of a steady purpose of the enlightened 
will, gradually develope characters of symmetrical 
structure upon good foundations." 

I. "In the allusion to the power of Christ in this 
work, how much am I to understand is referred to 
this power ? " 

C. " It will be necessary to consider the Atone- 
ment, in order to reply to your question. We believe 
(and again I draw from our standard authorities) in 
one God and in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We 
believe in the Holy Spirit as the impersonal power of 
God which works in the heart of man. Christ was 
the first-born of every creature, consequently he can- 
not be equal to God the Father. The precise nature 
of his relationship to God and man, we regard as 
unwarrantable presumption to define. That there is 
a three-fold office in the work of regeneration we 
acknowledge. In the work of reconciling man to 
God, the Father, Christ the Son acts the part of 
Exemplar, Teacher, elder Brother, and Saviour. 
God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten 
Son, that whosoever believes in Him may be saved 
from his sins in this life and the next. It was not the 
anger of God towards man which gave the inesti- 
mable gift of His Son, as is erroneously taught by 
some forms of belief. The Holy Spirit is the power 
of God in the heart which draws it to discipleship to 
Christ, and moulds it, in favoring circumstances, into 
His likeness. These circumstances are a part of man's 



CONVERSATION. ■ 313 

destiny in this life or the next. The complete work, 
as also the work on all its parts, is one of Infinite 
Love. The creature, man, cannot love the Lord 
Jesus too much, nor, as second only to the Father, can 
he exalt him too high. His work in the regeneration 
of man, is that of ineffable tenderness. As such, it 
is passing all speech in the realm of the beautiful and 
the good. ' Behold, I stand at the door, and knock : 
If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will 
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with 
me.' ' It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, 
saying, open to me * * for my head is filled with 
dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.' 
What words could more truly portray the mission of 
the Christ to man than these ? " 

I. " But what use do you assign to those passages 
in the Bible which clearly show that Christ was also 
a sacrifice for sin — thus pointing to a work of propi- 
tiation with the Father ? " 

C. " Those words which indicate a sacrifice were 
used in accommodation to the existing ideas of sacri- 
ficial offerings for sin, which had been transmitted 
from the earliest periods. But I prefer to read to you, 
concerning this, from the author already quoted : 
' It is not denied that sacrificial language is applied 
in the New Testament to the passion of the Saviour. 
But that language, it is maintained, had parted 
with its primary import, while the strictly vicarious 
sufferings and literal atonements of heathenism were 
unknown in the Hebrew church. The general idea 
of atonement, it is thought, passed, in the religious 
history of man, through several stages. In the rudest 



3H 



AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 



religious conceptions, sacrifices were vicarious means 
of appeasing the Divinity, and so averting the conse- 
quences of His displeasure and wrath. Here we have 
the offender, man ; the being offended, God ; and the 
atoning medium, the most precious of man's posses- 
sions — his substance, his captive, his child. By the 
Mosaic law, God was set forth as essentially good, and 
surpassingly merciful ; willing, therefore, to accept 
man's offerings, not so much as means of appeasement 
on his part, as tokens of a submissive, grateful, and 
obedient heart on the part of the repentant sinner ; 
consequently, atonement, in the Hebrew Church, was 
a system of covering, and as of covering, so of oblit- 
eration for sin ; a system by which God threw a vail 
over human transgressions, and, receiving marks of 
man's homage, graciously remitted the sin, and fore- 
went the penalty. Another stage in the conception is 
found in the prophetic view of atonement, which, 
based on the internal nature of religion, the necessity 
of internal obedience, and the abuses to which the 
externalities of sacrificial observances had been found 
to lead, disallowed, and even severely reprobated 
all outward oblations and propitiatory tokens what- 
ever, declaring that God could accept only a pure 
heart and a benevolent life. (Is. i : n ; Amos 5 : 21 ; 
Micah 6: J ', Jer. 6, 20 ; 7 : 22.) The final step in this 
process of revelation and of spiritual refinement was 
set by the Lord Jesus Christ, when teaching men to 
regard God as the Father of all, especially of those 
who believed (1 Tim. 4: 10) he taught them also to 
consider his own sufferings as an expression and 
exemplification of love — of everlasting, unpurchased, 



CONVERSATION. 315 

and unprompted love — on the part of the Father ; 
and of pity, and the widest and most generous philan- 
thropy on his own part. Coming, however, as he 
did, to put away sin by the voluntary sacrifice of him- 
self, (Heb. 9 : 26,) he became the great sacrifice — the 
ideal atonement — the completion and the fulfilment 
of all divinely-recognized sacrificial ideas, types, and 
observances, — so that, while all the phraseology con- 
nected therewith was applicable, and in its highest 
import applicable, only to him, that import was not 
physical, not material, but divested of all merely 
human and earthly elements of wrath, equivalence, 
and propitiation ; had risen into pure spirituality, and 
represented as its essential ideas, sin and suffering on 
man's part, love on the part of God and Christ, and 
such a remedy emanating from the latter as would 
inevitably cover, obliterate, and remove the former. 
Thus eliminating all the gross conceptions which had 
their reason, if not their origin in low states of moral 
culture and early periods of civilization, the Gospel 
presents in its atonement, "a new and better way" — 
a way in which mercy triumphs over justice ; love has 
"free course and is glorified ; " and, while sin is sub- 
dued and extirpated, the sinner is redeemed, restored, 
renovated, and made everlastingly happy, by becoming 
essentially holy.'" 

/. "The view is a philosophical one upon the 
basis of human reason ; but as a religious view, upon 
the basis of the word of God, there are many diffi- 
culties accompanying it to my mind." 

C. " It is plain to understand, provided you admit 
the same process takes place in the human mind of 



3l6 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

different ages as in the operations of Nature, namely — 
change." 

I. " You believe, then, in the progress of ideas of 
Christian truth?" 

C. " Most certainly. We glory (if the term is ever 
permissible) in our scope of liberty of thought and 
enlightenment in the domain of truth. This, though 
sometimes abused by our people, we hail as our pre- 
cious, inalienable right. Were I bound to a creed 
made by any man, I should feel as if chained to Ixion's 
wheel. In any human prison of thought, I should 
stifle into inanity. There is no bondage like that of 
the soul in chains of religion. Man's spiritual nature 
having come from God himself, is allied to the infinite. 
Hence, all attempts at its prescription and limitation 
are nothing short of positive tyranny, as cruel in its 
sensations as it is fatal in its capacities for growth. I 
often think of what that excellent man, John Robin- 
son, wrote to the Congregational Church, which he 
had founded, after their departure for Plymouth, New 
England. Here it is. (Reads) : ' For my part I can- 
not sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed 
churches, who are come to a period in religion, and 
will go at present no further than the instruments of 
their reformation. The Lutherans cannot be drawn 
to go beyond what Luther saw. Whatever part of his 
will our good God has revealed to Calvin, they will 
rather die than embrace it. And the Calvinists, you 
see, stick fast where they were left by that great man 
of God, who yet saw not all things. 

" ' This is a misery much to be lamented ; for 
though they were burning and shining lights in their 



CONVERSATION. 2> l 7 

times, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel 
of God ; but were they now living, would be as 
willing to embrace further light, as^ that which they 
first received. I beseech you, remember it is an 
article of your church covenant, " That you be ready to 
receive whatever truth shall be made known to you 
from the written word of God." But I must herewithal 
exhort you to take heed what you receive as truth. 
Examine it, consider it, and compare it with other 
Scriptures of truth, before you receive it ; for it is not 
possible that the Christian world should come so lately 
out of such thick antichristian darkness, and that per- 
fection of knowledge should break forth at once.' " 

I. "I remember hearing a Congregational clergy- 
man read extracts from this letter, but he omitted this 
which you have read." 

C. " Yes ; I should suppose he would." 

/. " And yet it is evident that Calvin saw not all 
things, especially when he failed to discern the 
right of his opponent Servetus, to whose death he 
consented." 

C. " Servetus, a good man, as all admit, could not 
accept the Calvinistic idea of the Trinity. He was 
burned in conformity to the Calvinistic idea of God's 
punishment of his enemies. How true is it that we 
act towards our fellow-man as we think that God deals 
with them. In other words, our characters take on 
the semblance of our idea of God. If we think He is 
a being full of wrath, hate, and vengeance, the ten- 
dency is hate to all others but those who are like 
ourselves." 

/. " However, Robinson's caution to his people 



318 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

respecting the obligation to examine an alleged truth 
with the Scriptural canon, is not to be disregarded." 

C. " We accept the Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testament as a compendium of faith and duty ; but 
we do not admit -plenary inspiration." 

I. "It seems to me that the dividing line between 
reason and revelation is hard to draw. Dr. Priestley's 
idea, that the words of the writers of the Bible should 
be received just as we receive that of other credible 
historians, but without ascribing infallibility to them, 
is attended with great difficulty to me. If I reject 
their infallibility, I am compelled to resort to my own 
fallible judgment — a subterfuge altogether unworthy 
of such a subject." 

C. " But, if you accept them to the fullest import 
of inspiration, you are yet compelled to do the same 
thing, in order to arrive at an intelligent understanding 
of their annunciations." 

/. " This intelligent understanding, as I believe, 
can only be gained by the assistance of the Spirit of 
God. Our hearts do not burn within us while we 
read, till Christ talks to us by the way, and opens to 
us the Scriptures. This takes place, when, as you 
have intimated in that beautiful passage quoted in 
another connection, we open the door of our hearts to 
Him. We get from the Scriptures the measure of 
truth or error, which is the result of what we bring to 
them. If we carry hearts of unrest and hate to the 
Written Word, we bring away the same in kind, 
but more in degree ; and if we carry love, we bring 
away the effluence of love. Since prophecy came 
not by the will of man, but holy men of God spake 



CONVERSATION. 3 1 9 

as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, I cannot see 
that it is to be understood by the will of man, but 
rather by the spirit of God within us." 

C " We differ, if at all, more in terms than in 
reality. Like yourself, I believe that the Scriptures 
are to be interpreted by the spirit of God within us. 
This spirit exists in the heart of every sentient being. 
It does not work by any private interpretation vouch- 
safed to a Calvin or a Wesley ; but it is free to all as 
the air we breathe. What you believe is truth to you, 
but it may not be so to me, for the reason that the 
mediums through which it operates upon the under- 
standing are unlike. If I see yonder landscape 
through a red glass, all things are red ; if you look at 
the same scene through a green one, all the scene is 
green. Yet vision is perfect in both cases ; so is the 
landscape the same, and unchangeable. This com- 
ports with your idea of our bringing out of the Bible 
what we carry to it. Theologians form systems of 
divinity from the same texts, as unlike in their nature 
and tendencies as light from darkness, because the 
theologians themselves are unlike in the conditions 
of mind. Consequently I attach little value to all 
theologies. He that doeth His will shall know 
sufficient doctrine for all purposes essential to a good 
life and a good death. And that will is found in the 
Bible." 

I. "While I am explicit in avowing my belief in 
the full inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, I confess 
to unqualified admiration of the stress laid by you and 
your co-believers upon works, or moralities. The 
little attention paid to these, by the expounders of 



320 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

orthodox creeds, so called, has often been a great 
stumbling-block in my way. To me, it is nothing 
short of absolute impiety or heathen mythology to 
claim a surety of the highest happiness, immediately 
after death — the result of a life spent in the service of 
deception and the other devious ways of sin — under 
cover of a mere expression of faith." 

C. " Here you will understand why we do not 
make the atonement cover so much as do those men. 
We regard the idea of those who are self-styled evan- 
gelical, as most dangerous and often fatal to thorough 
foundations of virtue and good faith in dealings among 
men. You will observe the character of those com- 
munities which hold such doctrines. They strain at a 
gnat in a profession, but swallow camels in their 
practice. It would seem that nothing but the laws of 
the land restrain them." 

I. "I admit what you say. And yet I must add 
that it is my faith, if I am ever saved, it will be by the 
atonement of my Saviour Jesus Christ, and not b}^ 
any works which I have done." 

C. "At the same time you believe that we shall 
all be judged according to our works?" 

/. "I do. And I also believe that the death of 
Christ avails nothing where these works do not exist.". 

C. "We differ, as before, more in terms than oth- 
erwise." 

/. "It is surprising to me that your sect does not 
gain followers more rapidly and more extensively over 
all the classes of society, when you inculcate such 
pure practice." 

C. "Our teaching of the necessity of a moral life 



CONVERSATION. 3 21 

in order to please God, is the offence of the cross 
which fails to suit the popular ear ; whereas a doctrine 
that teaches a faith without" any works but those of 
your own will, is most agreeable to the general heart. 
They do indeed teach good works, but rather as an 
outgrowth and adornment than the elements of the 
structure of which the Christian character is com- 
posed. Our foundation, alike with theirs, is Christ ; 
but we believe that the building will not stand the test 
of time unless rightly composed." 

I. " Allow me to add an opinion respecting this. 
It seems to me if your preachers brought their sermons 
more on a level with the great heart of the people — 
those active, impulsive, and yet mostly unlearned and 
unread people — that they would be more attractive, 
and hence more operative upon popular thought. 
With some few exceptions they are not sufficiently in 
earnest. The laws of rhetoric, you know, sir, incul- 
cate earnestness in the speaker, in order to kindle a 
corresponding emotion in the hearers. They do not 
bring enough of the vital interest at stake. They 
indulge in theories, while their hearers, for the most 
part, are wholly unprepared for such food. They 
sacrifice their true power in an attempt to sustain the 
dignity of a life of profound study interspersed with 
elegant leisure and the most refined social exchange." 

C. "I admit that there is justice in your criticism. 
But we do not wish to evoke an earnestness which 
will soon consume itself and its possessor. You re- 
member that in the time of Godfrey of Boulogne, cer-' 
tain people of Nivers were burned with invisible fire, 
and Krautzius says that some of them cut off a hand 
21 



322 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

or a foot where the burning started, in order to arrest 
the calamity. It is indeed a calamity to have a fire 
kindled within you, which consumes. The true 
warmth of the soul is created by the rays from the sun 
of righteousness ; but every soul has the capability of 
this divine fire, which is a blessing and not a curse." 

/. "I remember that De Castro said of Doctor 
Alexandrinus Megeteus, that fire came out of his' back- 
bone which scorched the eyes of beholders. Now, 
those beholders could not help looking at the Doctor ; 
they would go far to see him. He drew crowds. I 
would have ministers with such backbone. The few 
have it, whom all men draw after." 

C. u Such sensational men have no real perma- 
nence in the confidence of the people. You never 
know who they are or what they really believe. They 
know not themselves. Neither are the sensations 
begotten in the people of more account, save as a 
havoc and damage every way. Witness the aspect of 
the people on their return from a camp-meeting. As 
a brother once said to me on one of these occasions, 
' I've got religion enough to last me a whole year, till 
the next one.' They look as though they had to con- 
tinually assure themselves of this, in order not to lapse 
into a state of profound misery." 

/. "This is the extreme. The golden mean — the 
juste milieu in all things, is certainly best. We must 
take people as we find them ; for if we stop to make 
them over quite to our liking, they are gone, and so like- 
wise are we. In our short lives we have not time to 
do what we would. The people demand excitements. 
If they cannot get them here, they will seek for them 



CONVERSATION. 323 

there. If your sect can get along without the people, 
you may well afford to hold the even tenor of your 
refined and elevated way. But if you want them, 
you must provide things meet and suitable for them. 
While you, Unitarians, are discoursing from the sub- 
lime heights of philosophy and refined experience to 
the few who know whereof you speak, the other* 
populous sects are coursing thoroughly the defiles and 
gorges of sin, scouring the plains of every-day life, 
and making their difficult way through apparently 
unexplored regions of unbelief and ignorance, and so 
gathering numberless raw recruits of way-farers, plod- 
ders, fools, villains, and all the heterogeneous mass 
which swell their formidable array of denominational 
statistics. Their mission is like His who came not to 
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Hence 
they prosper." 

C. " Not every one that saith ' Lord ! Lord ! ' and 
doeth many wonderful works in his name, will be 
found all glorious within, on the day of the revelation 
of the true life. We live not for to-day. We look 
not to time for the trial of our work. Statistics made 
by partial men are of no account to us. The homely 
adage is not forgotten, - Easy come, easy go,' There 
are, however, transition periods in all denominations. 
And were I to indulge myself in prophecy, I should 
say that ours was approaching one of these." 
/. u May I inquire to what you refer?" 
C. " The thinkers of our people seem awaking 
to the consciousness of a necessity for a rnore active 
spirituality. Their hearts are getting more sympa- 
thetic with the popular heart. Research and specula- 



324 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

tive reflection are becoming tiresome. (Israel thought 
of the metaphysical sermon.) A need is springing 
up in the soul. Christ's knocking is heard and heeded. 
The deflection of certain portions of our people into 
what is called pure Rationalism, has been the occasion 
of this awakening of the other portion, called Chris- 
tian Unitarians or Unitarian Christians." 

/. "You, like other sects, have to bear one another's 
burdens of ' heresy.' " 

C. "Yes, without admitting the word heresy. We 
do not consider those who differ from our own views, 
whether within our own pale or beyond it, as heretics. 
That word belongs to a dark age. The children of a 
common Father, wdiose name and essence is love, can 
ill descend so low as to deal in stigmas. Who art 
thou that judgest thy brother? Judgment belongs to 
God." 

/. "I think if some of you Christian Unitarians 
were to come out with a more apostolical zeal, so that 
the common people of the highways and by-w r ays 
would hear you gladly, your power would prevail 
over that of your brethren who deal in refined spec- 
ulations." 

C. "And the exercise of our powers would be 
promotive of their development into higher and nobler 
channels of thought and action." 

I. "I trust that you will pardon my presumption 
in venturing these criticisms. Your unvarying free- 
dom of communication has caused me to forget all 
else but 3'our goodness in listening to one who has no 
claims upon your attention." 

C. "I honor your draft upon my courtesy. The 



CONVERSATION. 325 

expression of one's honest convictions is never to be 
undervalued. I am certain that this you say of us is 
truth. We must feel more the necessity of speaking 
directly to the people of the great vital truths of 
Christianity. We must urge them to seek a new heart 
and a right spirit. Thought and feeling must go hand 
in hand in the onward march of progress ; then will 
there be kindled a noble, God-like fervor, not only in 
our hearers, but in ourselves. We preachers need to 
bring new fire from off the altar in order to be true 
Christian Unitarians." 

/". "I infer that you, in common with all other 
Christian sects, date your first period to the time of 
Christ." 

C. " We do, as Christian Unitarians ; but as Uni- 
tarians, we go back to the times of the patriarchs who 
believed in only one God. In the .earliest Christian 
churches we find that the believers of our doctrine 
were opposed under the name of monarchists, because 
they held to the sovereignty of one God, the Father." 

I. "In connection with your denomination, I have 
always associated a few eminent leading names as the 
personal embodiment of its teachings. Of the first 
of these, is Arius. I remember of my early reading 
of this man, and his contest with Alexander, bishop 
of Alexandria." 

C. " This was in the begining of the fourth cen- 
tury. He owned Christ to be God, but in a sense that 
angels are styled gods in the Scripture ; that he was 
not co-eternal with the Father, consequently not co- 
equal. Arius is represented to have been venerable in 
appearance, and irreproachable in his habits." 



326 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

/. "I used to be much impressed when I read of 
his restoration to favor by Constantine, notwithstand- 
ing the opposition of Alexander — how he, with his 
followers, on being recalled, walked the streets of 
Constantinople in triumph, and when, according to 
the language of the historian, ' he was suddenly seized 
with an anguish in his bowels, and soon after expired.' 
I thought that it was a visitation of the judgment of 
God, for his errors. But since, I have found in more 
truthful sources of history, that the evidence was con- 
clusive ; that his opponents cut short his career by 
poisoning him." 

C. " We have suffered our share of persecution." 

/. " Next, I recall the names of Martin Cellarius, 
of Stuttgart, the friend of Luther and Melancthon, 
and Michael Servetus. Laelius Socinus adopted a 
similar system of antitrinitarianism, which was in- 
troduced into Poland by his nephew, Faustus 
Socinus." 

C. " The doctrine of Socinus differed from that of 
Arius, in that he taught that Christ had no existence 
lintil born of the Virgin Mary." 

/. "I think that Socinus must have held a higher 
view of Christ than did some of his followers, as it is 
stated in history, that he persecuted Francis David on 
account of rejecting the worship of Christ, and cast 
him into prison, where he died." 

C. " There were different parties of antitrinita- 
rians in those days as in the present time. Some 
believed Jesus Christ to be a God of an inferior nature 
to the Father ; others held to his peculiar sonship like 
Arius ; yet others believed only in his humanity 






CONVERSATION. 327 

endowed with superior wisdom for ^ special mission 
which he sealed with his blood. The latter view has 
prevailed more extensively in Germany, in recent 
periods. In our land, they of this faith are now 
quietly passing into the ranks of the Rationalists or 
Transcendentalists." 

/. " Next the names of Priestley and Belsham, in 
England, come up to recognition in this connection." 

C. " But the first public advocate of Unitarianism 
in England was John Biddle. He, with others, pub- 
lished a series of Socinian tracts which aroused con- 
troversy, and established conviction in many hearts. 
The progress of our views during the latter part of 
the last century, in England and America, is chiefly 
ascribed to Dr. Priestley." 

/. " Dr. Samuel Clarke might also be styled a 
Unitarian, I suppose, since he maintained a difference 
of rank between the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 

C. " Yes ; and also John Milton and Sir Isaac 
Newton. There are other eminent names belonging 
to evangelical bodies, who have not been considered 
' sound ' on the doctrine of the Trinity." 

I. "In this country, the name of Channing is pre- 
cious to every sincere and liberal lover of truth. I 
have read his works with the deepest interest. Some 
of his words I have transcribed into my memory, and 
so have them always present at my call." 

C "What are these?" 

/. "One of the beautiful mosaics is this: 'Books 
find their way into every house, however mean ; and 
especially that book which contains more nutriment for 
the intellect, imagination, and heart, than all others ; I 



328 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

mean, of course, the Bible. And I am confident that 
among the poor are those who find in that one book 
more enjoyment, more awakening truth, more lofty 
and beautiful imagery, more culture to the whole soul, 
than thousands of the educated find in their general 
studies, and vastly more than millions among the rich 
find in that superficial, transitory literature which 
consumes all their reading hours.' " 

C. " We do well who imitate Channing in rever- 
ence and love for the Bible." 

/. " Then of all his writings I most like this pas- 
sage : — 

" ' I call that mind free, which jealously guards its 
intellectual rights and powers, which calls no man 
master, which does not content itself with a passive or 
hereditary faith, which opens itself to light whence- 
soever it may come, which receives new truth as an 
angel from heaven, which, while consulting others, 
inquires still more of the oracle within itself, and uses 
instruction from abroad, not to supersede, but to 
quicken and exalt its own energies. 

" ' I call that mind free which sets no bounds to its 
love, which is not imprisoned in itself or in a sect, 
which recognizes in all human beings the image of 
God, and the rights of his children, which delights in 
virtue, and sympathizes with suffering wherever they 
are seen, which conquers pride, anger, and sloth, and 
offers itself up a victim to the cause of mankind. 

'• c I call that mind free which is not passively framed 
by outward circumstances, which is not swept away 
by the torrents of events, which is not the creature of 
accidental impulse, but which bends events to its 



CONVERSATION. 329 

own improvement, and acts from an inward spring, 
from immutable principles which it has deliberately 
espoused. 

" ' I call that mind free which protects itself against 
the usurpations of society, which does not cower to 
human opinion, which feels itself accountable to a 
higher tribunal than man's, which respects a higher 
law than fashion, which respects itself too much to be 
the slave or tool of the many or the few. 

" ' I call that mind free which, through confidence in 
God, and in the power of virtue, has cast off all fear 
but that of wrong doing, which no menace or peril 
can enthral, which is calm in the midst of tumults, and 
possesses itself though all else be lost. 

" ' I call that mind free which resists the bondage of 
habit, which' does not mechanically repeat itself, and 
copy the past, which does not live on its old virtues, 
which does not enslave itself to precise rules, but 
which forgets what is behind, listens for new and 
higher monitions of conscience, and rejoices to pour 
itself forth in fresh and higher exertions. 

" ' I call that mind free which is jealous of its own 
freedom, which guards itself from being merged in 
others, which guards its empire over itself as nobler 
than the empire of the world. 

" ' In fine, I call that mind free which, conscious of its 
affinity with God, and confiding in his promises by 
Jesus Christ, devotes itself faithfully to the unfolding 
of all its powers, which passes the bounds of time and 
death, which hopes to advance forever, and which 
finds inexhaustible power, both for action and suffering, 
in the prospect of immortality. 



330 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

" ' Such is the spiritual freedom which Christ came to 
give. It consists in moral force, in self-control, in the 
enlargement of thought and affection, and in the unre- 
strained action of our best powers. This is the great 
good of Christianity ; nor can we conceive a greater 
within the gift of God.' " 



THE PRACTICAL SERMON. 33 1 



CHAPTER III 



THE PRACTICAL SERMON. 



A few Sabbaths after the foregoing conversation, 
the Unitarian clergyman preached a sermon upon 
these words : "And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get 
thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?" 
(Joshua 7 : 10.) 

Of this discourse, Israel made the following mem- 
oranda : — 

"Joshua was faint-hearted. He had found difficul- 
ties. He, with his people, had recently come into a 
strange land, among an unfriendly people. Regretting 
that the Lord had brought them over Jordan, Joshua 
with his elders rent their clothes, fell to the earth, and 
put dust upon their heads. Then the Lord said, ' Get 
thee up ; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face ? ' 

" There are many like Joshua in our day and gen- 
eration. Indeed this state of mind is, doubtless, that 
of every one at some period of life. But some do not 
hear the words of the Lord as did Joshua ; or, if hear- 
ing, they do not heed them. They continue to lie on 
their faces and grovel in the dust and ashes of trib- 
ulation. They go mourning all their days. 

" There are two or three points -which I shall con- 
sider in connection with the text : — 



332 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

" First. Who are these that lie on the ground upon 
their faces? 

" Second. How can they obey the command 'Get 
thee up/ involved with which is the question, What 
are they to do after they get up ? 

" Under the first head, I would point out, among 
the representatives of this class who lie on their faces, 
that young man who has no defined purpose of life, 
no object above the existence of the present hour, no 
aim more exalted than his own present gratification. 
Do you say, ' let me alone — I have no means, no 
opportunities whereby to do more. There is no great- 
ness in me. I never could do much when at school. 
My endowments do not qualify me for any higher 
sphere than that I now occupy. Besides, whenever I 
have tried to get up, I have surely fallen. I see no 
way for me to do better or greater. It does not pay 
for me to make any such extra efforts.' 

" Another representative of the class is the man of 
business who shuts his soul to all the higher impulses 
of his being ; who, seeing that it fares better with 
others than himself because of his inferior conditions 
for culture, remains prone upon his face, with no 
thought of recognizing a higher life and a nobler 
scope of vision. 

"The third representative man is he who has passed 
middle life, and is now looking towards the decline of 
his years. He says, ' If I had my life to live over 
again, I should do very differently ; I should know 
what to do in order to get great things for myself. But 
it is too late now. I am getting to be an old man. My 
remaining business is to keep pretty still where I 



THE PRACTICAL SERMON. 333 

am till I feel the cold touch of the grim messenger, 
Death.' 

" Suffer me to say to all these classes of persons, 
and to all others who are in the condition in which 
was Joshua, ' Get tJiee up; wherefore liest thou thus 
upon thy face ? ' Every effort you make in this life adds 
something to the development of the immortal man 
within you. Nothing of strife for the better, the 
nobler, the holier, is ever lost. If you had but one 
day more to live, it would avail more than I can 
describe to make all the advances possible before that 
day was over. Just so far as you get in time, so far 
ahead you begin in eternity. Therefore, lose no time 
in. getting up, looking about you, and discovering 
what the Lord would have you to do. * * * * 

"Under the second head, I shall notice some of the 
means whereby you may obey the command, ' Get 
thee up.' Men are prone to forget who and what they 
are ; they forget their kinship ; they forget their destiny. 
You are not only sons of men, but sons of God. You 
are made in the likeness of God. You are dowered 
with a freedom of will, the exercise of which, if in ac- 
cordance with the laws of your being, is pleasing to God. 
You are not mere machines. You are not doomed 
men. You are not made under a curse for the sins of 
Adam. No dark, impenetrable cloud of divine wrath 
hangs over your devoted head, shrouding your way in 
mystery and gloom. 

a Think, my friends, you are the children of God ! 
If earthly parents know how to give good things to 
their children, how much more shall your Father 
which is in heaven give good things to them that ask 



334 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

Him. If you take this home to your hearts, can you 
not see how easy it is to get up from your posture on 
the ground? 

" Nothing is more disastrous, more utterly to be 
deprecated in the course of the events of your life, 
than to believe in your fate, to talk of luck, to cry over 
your evil stars. Fate ! Luck ! Stars ! What are they 
all before the power of God ! And has not God 
vouchsafed to promise the exercise of this power ac- 
cording to the measure of your faith and corresponding 
effort? 'Help yourself, and heaven will help you/ 

"' How shall I help myself? How can I get up?' 
do you reply ? 

" Believe what I have just told you. Begin with 
believing, and according to the adage, ' The beginning 
is the half of the whole.' 

u You, young man ! to whom I have already 
spoken, be true to the divinity within you, in order to 
work yourself up into the recognition of men. 
Wherever you are, do all your present duty, — no 
matter who sees you, or who sees you not, — no matter 
what it may cost you of self-sacrifice. Live up to 
yourself. Cut off your evil habits, if you have any, 
if it takes your right-hand sin. Divinity does not 
grow in an atmosphere of impurity. It stifles. Sin 
brings you flat on your face. You cannot walk up- 
right so long as vice clings to you. As St. Gaull, the 
apostle of Germany, ordered the bear who served him 
with bringing wood to kindle his fire, to retire to the 
farthest fastnesses of the forest, and nevermore to show 
himself again to the injury of man, so do you com- 
mand the sin which serves you with fuel for the fire of 



THE PRACTICAL SERMON. 335 

your life, to depart hence, and disturb you no more. 
The legend states that the bear obeyed the Saint until 
his dying day. So, will the sin obey you, if it dis- 
covers that you are in earnest — that you are really 
determined to get up, and prove yourself an upright- 
going man. Resist the devil, and he will flee from 
you. Put away the accursed thing from among you, 
even as Joshua was commanded to do by the Lord. 
This is one help to your getting up. 

" Another is, to throw yourself upon the undevel- 
oped capabilities within you. Who knows what he 
can do, until he tries ! The career of all the great men 
in all departments of laudable effort illustrates this. 
And the Lord said unto Joshua — (this was the next 
thing after the putting away of the hidden sin which 
was among them) — Fear not, neither be thou dis- 
mayed ; take all the people of war with thee, and 
arise, go up to Ai ; see, I have given into thine hand 
the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his 
land. 

u How many of you, young men, want to go up to Ai ? 

u This has seemed to be a favorite text among certain 
preachers of late — And he pitched his tent towards 
Sodom. One of these said in the pulpit, a short time 
since, that it was pitching the tents towards Sodom 
when young men left their homes to seek their for- 
tunes in the West. As though God were not the God 
of the West, as well as of the East, in our own little 
speck of continent on the earth ! 

" These men who delight in holding up Sodom for 
contemplation, seem afraid of the outgrowing enter- 
prise of our people. They wish to crop it off with 



336 



AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 



the dull blade of religious bigotry and self-conceit. I 
would sooner look for Sodom where John Randolph 
directed the woman who was solicting missionary 
funds — at our own doors. The ministers who "would 



check off laudable ambition 



young men. 



have 



the Sodom in their own hearts. For where would 
they have been, if they had not pitched their tent 
beyond the horizon of their own paternal doors ! If 
you pitch your tent in this world, you will find more 
or less of Sodom. 

" Therefore, I say unto you, young men, who of 
you desire to go up to Ai? Where is Ai? Ai is 
wherever there is work to be done — hard work of 
which you are capable. Wherever there are souls to 
be conquered to the dominion of truth, is Ai. Wher- 
ever there is a city to be built in the name of the 
Lord, is Ai. Wherever there is a king like Slavery, 
Intemperance, Avarice, and Unbelief, to be overcome 
and destroyed, is Ai. Get thee up ; wherefore liest 
thou thus upon thy face, when there is such glorious 
work to do — first to conquer the foes to your own 
peace, then to vanquish the foes of the peace of others. 
Are you all ready to get up, and go out on your feet, 
new men, with new life within you? 

" No ; I see that you are not. You lack entire pre- 
paration. The Christ within you has not been 
invoked. In the name of the Lord, can you only do 
this great thing. It was God who gave to Joshua the 
might to go forth and conquer. It was He who gave 
unto them Ai and his people, and his city, and his 
land. Will you take Jesus for your guide, and make 
the effort, or do you prefer to lie where you are, and 



THE PRACTICAL SERMON. 337 

let the swift coursing tide of opposing events roll over 
you. When Alexander and his army marched to 
Mount Hsemus, he found that the enemy occupied the 
summit of the mountain, which was covered with a 
line of wagons which were to be rolled down precip- 
itously upon the ascending phalanx. He then ordered 
his soldiers to open their ranks, so that these wagons 
could pass through the intervening spaces. But soon 
the wagons came down so fast and hot upon them, 
they threw themselves on the ground, and locked their 
shields together, so that the wagons went over them 
with a bound. The sensations of those Macedonian 
soldiers could not have been very pleasant while lying 
there under that advancing foe of clattering- wagons. 
You, who lie flat on your alleged destiny while the 
artillery of the enemy rolls over your backs, defended 
only by the shield of your philosophical resignation, 
know somewhat the sensations. 

" ' But,' do you say, ' I have tried more than once' 
to advance and take the enemy. Their wagons are 
always too thick for me. I have to lie on my face in 
order to escape with my life.' Joshua felt just this, or 
he would not have torn his clothes and powdered his 
head with dust, in the anguish of his spirit. There is 
no disgrace in failure if unlinked with sin. To try a 
thousand times and fail only shows that you are a man 
with a spirit worthy of the gods. It shows that you are 
determined to succeed some time, and success crowns 
the brave soon or late. ' Men want industry more 
than time or abilities,' says Sallust. Work, work, 
WORK, is the secret of getting up and getting on*. 
If you fail here, apply there ; if you fail there, return 
22 



338 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

here ; only keep on working. No matter if your 
schemes come to nought ; try others. The dream goes 
by, but the man is here. Don Quixote returned home 
from one of his great expeditions, stretched upon a 
truss of hay on the bottom of a cage, in a wagon 
drawn by oxen, instead of coming in the great glory 
which he had foreseen. But he was none the less the 
indefatigable flower of chivalry, than if drawn in state 
in a gilded chariot, harnessed with royal lions, like the 
gods, with angels for outriders. 

"Before the commencement of earthquakes, the 
clouds are fixed and motionless. So when your lot 
seems to have come to a dead and forlorn standstill, 
look out for the revolution which shall turn up great 
things in your path. 

"I said another representative of this class was the 
man of business, who is content with keeping his' face 
to the earth, because, forsooth, he has not had the 
benefit of advantages for superior culture. This is 
looking backward to no good, after the style of Lot's 
wife. Of what avail are useless regrets? Of what 
use is it to pound in your weak points? Rather bring 
them out and accustom them by use to sustain burdens 
by degrees. 

" But do you worry how you are going to sustain 
them, when you were not trained for the work? ' O 
Lord, what shall I say?' cried cowardly Joshua, there 
on his face, ' when Israel turneth their backs before 
their enemies ? ' Not content with lying on the ground, 
he goes to borrowing trouble about the future. That 
is the style of your cowardly souls. 

'• 'For the Canaanites, and all the inhabitants of the 



THE PRACTICAL SERMON. 339 

land shall hear of it, and shall environ us around, and 
cut off our name from the earth ; and what wilt thou 
do unto thy great name ? ' continues Joshua. As though 
the Lord could not take care of His great name with- 
out any of Joshua's help! As. though, too, it made 
any real difference with Joshua and his people, what 
the Canaanites should say when they heard of his 
weakness, or what they should attempt to do ! 

"But how much this is like the men of to-day, who 
fear to get up and go on, lest they will not know what 
to say ! Say what you honestly think, or keep still 
till it is time to say it. That is better in all straits 
than any quotations from the Greek or Latin poets ; it 
it is better than the Sanscrit ; it excels the ' dark say- 
ings ' which were uttered upon the harp of David. 
(It excels quotations from the old schoolmen, thought 
Israel.) There is no need of taking thought what you 
shall say when your backs are turned to your enemies. 
The best way is to right about face, and say nothing. 

"Next, you trouble yourself over what the Canaan- 
ites will say about your defeat. This is the greatest 
folly of all. Who are the Canaanites? Only men 
like yourself; they do not even eat angels' food. They, 
too, have their defeats. The Canaanites are unworthy 
your notice, or they would not comment upon your 
troubles. Hence, take no notice of those Canaanites. 
Or if you do notice them, let it be after the fashion of 
the Mahometans who, at the place where they say 
Abraham offered up Isaac, throw seven stones at a 
pillar, crying, ' Stone the devil, and them that please 
him.' I do not counsel you to stone your enemies. 
Far from that ; but I do advise you to stone their words 



34° AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

with your sublimest indifference. There are invisible, 
noiseless shots, far more powerful than the roar of a 
cannon. 

" The best way for you, who are struggling in 
discouragement, with an ever-painful consciousness of 
your deficiencies, is to transmute your dross into gold 
by the powerful alchemy of the name — ' Make the 
best of it? Mythology ascribes the invention of 
wreaths to Prometheus, who imitated with flowers the 
fetters which he had borne for his love to mankind. 
So, likewise, can you who have been forced to wear 
fetters of any kind in the days that are past, or even 
up to the present, call your chains wreaths, — laurel 
wreaths worn for your love of others ! Beautiful 
crowning of a lot of self-sacrifice and pain ! Every 
one of your trials should be reckoned a flower of fair- 
est hue and sweetest fragrance. God so reckons them 
if they have been sanctified. 

" Therefore I say unto you, as was said to Joshua, 
' Up, sanctify yourselves against to-morrow ! ' Sanc- 
tify all your sufferings and hardships. Sanctify your 
hearts in the name and for the love of Jesus. Get 

ready for to-morrow's work ! 

****** 

"To the third representative man — he who, being 
past middle life, despairs of ever doing more or better 
than he has already achieved, — suffer me to say that 
you have but just begun your existence. It is high 
time for you to attend to the monition, ' Get thee up ; 
wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face ! ' Do you 
imagine that God has taken all this pains to bring you 
over Jordan for nothing? There is work to be done 



THE PRACTICAL SERMON. 341 

which you and only you can do. The ripe results of 
your long experience must be given to the world. 
The maturity of your judgment must be felt about you. 

" ' What can I do?' do you again ask? Much every 
way. Look about you. Sanctify yourself in the name 
of the Lord. Then go up to Ai. Your Ai is what- 
ever you can do best. At eighty years old, Cato 
learned the Greek language. Plutarch, when nearly 
as old, learned Latin. Socrates learned to play on 
musical instruments when far advanced in life. Ar- 
nauld translated Josephus when eighty years of age. 
Until fifty years of age, Sir Henry Spelman was 
devoted to farming ; then he began and afterwards 
mastered the sciences. Tellier, Chancellor of France, 
learned logic in order to dispute with his grandchildren. 
Chaucer commenced his Canterbury Tales in his fifty- 
fourth year. I might multiply such instances almost 
indefinitely. 

" There is a beautiful device, invented by Michael 
Angelo, to be seen in Rome, of an old man in a g'o- 
cart, on which is an hour-glass, with the inscription, 
4 Tet I am learning? 

" Of Fontenelle, who continued his literary labors 
to his ninety-ninth year, a friend wrote -^ ' Fontenelle, 
like our neighboring thorn, blossoms in the winter of 
his days.' Not all are made for this kind of going to 
Ai. Some go there for one object ; some for another ; 
but it matters not, so that all go, and possess the land 
— so that all work to some good purpose. ***** 

" I beseech you, not to look back on your way. Do 
not say — ' If I only could live my life over again ! ' 
One life in this world, with so many chances of lying 



34 3 AMONG THE UNITARIANS. 

flat on your face, much of the time,* is enough for any 
man. Only serpents are emblems of a mortal life with- 
out end. The wandering Jew is the most to be pitied 
of all men. Says Goethe — 'Nature knows no pause 
in progress and development, and attaches her curse 
on all inaction.' 

****** 

" There are things innumerable and indescribable 
for all of us, of whatever class or age, to do, after we 
obey the command, ' Get thee up.' A willing mind 
will make them plain to us — but one at a time. • We 
are to live only one day in the twenty-four hours, and 
one hour in the sixty minutes. If God gives us 
strength for this, we have all we need. Let us 
acquire the habit, if we do not already possess it, of a 
calm and holy confidence in Him, who only can help 
us over our difficulties. Getting down on our faces, 
if ever so hard beset, is not to be thought of. We 
should teach our children that trials are the best part 
of life, because they make us men and women of holy 
valor ; — they fit us for a higher order of angels ; they 
whiten our robes as no fuller can whiten them, be 
none never so royal in his patent right. 

"Anything short of this leads the. way to despair 
and rebellion against God and man. It often ends in 
insanity. * * 

" But O ! the joyful hope, ever present to the vision 
of him who overcometh to the end ! That hope 
which is an anchor to the soul, both sure and stead- 
fast, and which entereth into that within the vail 
whither the forerunner is for us entered, even 
Jesus I * * * * 



THE PRACTICAL SERMON. 343 

"Therefore, whosoever thou art that crieth in thy 
soul — ; Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all 
brought us over Jordan to deliver us into the hand of 
our enemies, and to destroy us ! hear the voice of the 
Lord saying — "Get thee up; wherefore liest thou 
thus upon thy face ? " ' 

"From this hour, determine, in His strength, to 
obey his command. Sanctify yourselves for work — 
new work in the vineyard of the Lord, and go forward 
towards Ai with a joyful heart, and with a song of 
praise upon your lips. 



FINDING .THE CITY. 



A LETTER. 

Israel Knight wrote to his former guardian this : — 

"Dear Sir: — 

" I have given some attention to nine different 
denominations of Christians. Many others, more or 
less akin to some one of these, equally claim my inves- 
tigation ; but I now despair of finding what I seek, viz : 
the church which shall correspond to the City of the 
Prophet's vision, whose name deserves to be, The 
Lord is there. 

"Though I find something by which to profit in all, 
there is no one free from my dissent in articles of faith 
or practice. What shall I do to be saved from my 
perplexity ? 

Respectfully yours, 

Israel Knight." 



reply. 



" My Dear Young Friend : — 

" Read more carefully the Prophet's vision of that 
City with the name for which you look. 
345 



34^ FINDING THE CITY. 

" There were gates on all sides. Every gate led to 
the city. 

" Keep straight on any of the roads, the church- 
gate of which you have entered, and you will come to 
the place where the Lord is, provided you are right 
yourself. It is not the gate through which you go, 
but the heart which you carry through that gate. 
' The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. 
Neither shall they say Lo here ! or Lo there ! for 
behold the kingdom of God is within you.' God is 
no respecter of persons ; in every nation he that feareth 
Him and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him. 

" Every church has within it elements of truth and 
of error. There is no perfection this side of the City 
of God. 

" Nothing is more to be deprecated than the prayer 
that all may come to think just like our own little clan. 
It would be the utmost misfortune to all Christendom 
to have only one church. The city to which only one 
gate led, would be another Babylon, full of the abom- 
inations of the earth. 

" When Christ sent forth the seventy disciples into 
every city and place whither he himself would come, 
he gave them no creed, imposed no restrictions save 
of the merest practical import. To him who, wishing 
to tempt the Lord, asked him, 'What shall I do to 
inherit eternal life ? ' reference was given to the law 
which read, ' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbor as 
thyself.' 

" ' Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 



A LETTER AND THE REPLY. 347 

I have commanded you,' were the words of Jesus 
to the twelve in his commission to them before his 
departure from their sight. The summary of these 
'all things' was repentance and faith. This is the 
utmost simplicity consistent with any expression of 
doctrine. 

" Different temperaments with different degrees of 
cultivation require varying modes of expansion of this 
central doctrine, in its two-fold expression. This is 
well. It is promotive of enterprise ; it keeps the 
spiritual atmosphere of churches comparatively pure ; 
it "saves man from falling into the grossest error of his 
nature, which is tyranny. 

" Doubtless God sees that this is good, or he would 
not repeat his signal manifestations of goodness to 
each and all of the churches. 

" Therefore I say to him who prefers to journey 
by the gate of Joseph, toward the City whose name is 
The Lord is there, let him not turn coldly away from 
him who cometh by the gate of Dan, or Simeon, or 
Gad, or Napthali. 

" This business is between you and God, and con- 
cerns no other so nearly. 

" I enclose for you a branch broken from the palm- 
tree, under which once sat a great Heart. 
Truly yours, 

Ephraim Stearns." 

This was what Israel found enclosed : — 
" Truth indeed came once into the world with her 
Divine Master, and was a perfect shape most glorious 
to look on ; but when he ascended, and his Apostles 



348 CONCLUSION. 

after him were laid asleep, then straight arose a 
wicked race of deceivers, who, as that story goes of 
the Egyptian Typhon with his conspirators, how they 
dealt with the good Osiris^ took the virgin Truth, 
hewed her lovely form into a thousand pieces, and 
scattered them to the four winds. From that time 
ever since, the sad friends of Truth, such as durst 
appear, imitating the careful search that Isis made for 
the mangled body of Osiris, went up and down gath- 
ering up limb by limb still as they could find them. 
We have not yet found them all, lords and commons, 
nor ever shall do, till her master's second coming ; 
he shall bring together every joint and member, and 
shall mould them into an immortal feature of loveli- 
ness and perfection." — Milton's Areopagitica. 



CONCLUSION. 

After this, Israel Knight spent some time, chiefly 
alone. Among his possessions was a solitary estate 
managed by a tenant with a small family. Thither 
he betook himself, and sought to discover what man- 
ner of man he was. 

By accident he read of Uriel Acosta, a Portuguese, 
who embraced so many religious opinions, he suffered 
many persecutions. Born a Christian, he became a 
pervert to Judaism, and ended by being a deist. In 
despair, he finally shot himself. 

Then Israel said — " There is peril in my thus halt- 
ing between opinions. Henceforth, I will seek to be 



A LETTER. 349 

a disciple of Christ. I shall love all men though they 
love me not. In whatever place I find a true worker 
for the good of his fellowmen, I will be to him a 
brother. 

And with this simple yet sublime faith in his heart, 
he went forth again into the world, no longer seeking 
the city. He had found it ; and over all the gates on 
either side, he read this inscription : — 

" TJierefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whoso- 
ever thou art that judgest" 



g f 



